OPINION: Jason Kenney’s embrace of open-pit coal mining has united Albertans against him – by Max Fawcett (National Observer – February 3, 2021)

https://www.nationalobserver.com/

When it comes to bad ideas, they don’t get much worse than sinking $1.5 billion worth of taxpayer dollars into a pipeline project that depended on the continued support of the least popular American president in modern history.

But on that score, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney appears determined to outdo himself. In addition to picking a fight with the most powerful economy in the world, his government is trying to make it as easy as possible for foreign corporations to build open-pit coal mines in the province’s scenic Rocky Mountains.

Outside of openly rooting for the Vancouver Canucks, he probably couldn’t have found a better way to unite Albertans against him and his government.

The anger a growing number of Albertans are now expressing against the province’s atavistic embrace of open-pit coal mining didn’t happen overnight, mind you.

That’s partially because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and partially because the government quietly announced the repeal of the Lougheed-era Coal Policy on the Friday before the long weekend in May.

For the rest of this article: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/02/03/opinion/jason-kenney-open-pit-coal-mining-united-albertans-against-him