rejected the project on Friday (6 August), after the evaluation of additional information following the denial of the provincial application.
“The Government of Canada must make decisions based on the best available scientific evidence while balancing economic and environmental considerations,” Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson said in a statement. “It is in Canada’s best interests to safeguard our water ways for healthy fish populations like the westslope cutthroat trout, respect Indigenous peoples’ culture and way of life, and protect the environment for future generations.”
In a release announcing the decision, Ottawa said the project was likely to result in significant adverse effects on the surface water quality, while threatening westslope cutthroat trout and whitebark pine, the latter being one of the two endangered tree species in Alberta. According to the federal government, the proposed project may also have adverse effects on the physical and cultural heritage of several First Nations, including Kainai, Piikani and Siksika, although Riversdale previously claimed that it had engaged with the indigenous communities in the region at the earliest stages of the project.
In May 2020, the Alberta government cancelled a 1976 policy, making it easier to develop open-pit coal mines in some of the most ecologically sensitive areas across the province. However, in April this year, the provincial government paused coal exploration activity in lands classified as “Category 2” until the completion of an ongoing public consultation.
