Alberta’s Minister of Energy was well aware that, when she revoked Alberta’s 1976 Coal Policy, she did so despite the fact that several government commitments to land-use planning would not be fulfilled. Confidential departmental advice given to Energy Minister Savage in March 2020 outlines this unmistakably. Read More
CPAWS Northern and Southern Alberta Chapters are happy to see the Government of Alberta’s announcement that all parks included in the February “Optimizing Alberta Parks” plan, which stated that 175 parks sites would be delisted or closed, will now retain their current designations and associated protections. Read More
EDMONTON, AB – Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson, has announced a $59.9 million funding commitment for the implementation of Wood Buffalo National Park’s Action Plan over the next three years. This funding is in addition to a previous federal investment of $27.5 million from 2018 for the park’s Action Plan, which was developed to address serious concerns with the ecological degradation of this World Heritage Site. CPAWS Northern Alberta welcomes this exciting announcement of continued investment in the future of Canada’s largest national park. Read More
Edmonton, Alberta, December 10, 2020 – Local grassroots non-profit Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition has filed a request for judicial review regarding the City of Edmonton’s rezoning of 99 acres of river valley parkland for an Epcor industrial solar plant. Read More
Yesterday, the Alberta government took another step towards turning Alberta’s Eastern Slopes into little more than a string of coal mines. Nearly 2,000 hectares of coal leases were offered for sale in the Rockies of southern Alberta. This offering, together with existing coal leases and applications for coal leases, confirms the government’s ambition to sacrifice the southern Alberta mountain landscape for coal. Read More
EDMONTON, AB – The ongoing precarious state of Wood Buffalo National Park was internationally recognized today by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which stated in a report assessing all of its World Heritage Sites, that its conservation outlook is of “significant concern”. This assessment came only one day after the Government of Canada was due to submit a State of Conservation update report to the UN on the federal government’s implementation of the Wood Buffalo National Park Action Plan to recover the park. The Action Plan was announced nearly two years ago, but Indigenous communities and environmental organizations have consistently expressed concerns about the need for more resources and timely actions to reflect the scope and severity of threats. Read More
Last week the Government of Alberta released “Alberta’s Crown Land Vision.” The Alberta Crown Land Vision appears to be a precursor to changes in two key areas of legislation: updating parks and public land legislation, and introducing new recreation legislation (Alberta Trails Act) focused on the creation of a recreation user-based fee framework. Read More
The Alberta Wilderness Association, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN), David Suzuki Foundation and Ecojustice say a recent agreement between Canada and Alberta regarding boreal caribou may leave the iconic species in peril unless Alberta takes immediate protective actions. Read More
