Issue Briefs

On March 25, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision regarding the challenges to the constitutionality of the federal government's carbon pricing system brought by the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. In its decision, the Court ruled 6-3 that the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act was constitutional. Read More

The oral portion of the public hearing for Benga Mining Ltd.'s proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project in the Crowsnest Pass concluded on December 2. The next step in the federal impact assessment process is for the Joint Review Panel to draft the Impact Assessment Report, Consultation Report, and recommend potential conditions for submission to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Grassy Mountain is the first of at least six mountain-top removal coal mines proposed by large Australian mining companies in various stages of regulatory approval in the region. There are more than 50,000 ha of the Old Man River headwaters under lease for future mountain-top removal mining.

Public hearing

• Grassy Mountain Coal Project (Canadian Impact Assessment Registry)
• Grassy Mountain blog (Alberta Wilderness Association)
• Watch archived recordings of the public hearing on YouTube.

A herd of caribou in Jasper National Park – the Maligne herd – is now considered locally extinct. Two other caribou herds in the region may be on the same path to extirpation because they don’t have enough breeding females to grow the herds.

AEN member groups are calling for immediate action to halt the decline of caribou populations in the remaining herds. Read More

Updated: September 21, 2020

The province is planning to close 20 parks sites and delist another 164 sites, although the timing is still uncertain. Internal government documents show there was no analysis of costs, public were excluded from consultation and land sales have been considered. Despite a government announcement of investments in Alberta parks infrastructure, the government indicated its intention to move forward with the previously-announced closures.

Latest updates

• September 18, 2020 Opinion: The UCP’s Alberta Parks cuts are a big—and dangerous—mistake (The Narwhal)
• September 15, 2020 Government investment in Alberta Parks infrastructure is encouraging, but 175 parks still set to be removed (CPAWS SAB & NAB)
• September 15, 2020 Creating jobs and improving Alberta’s parks (Alberta Environment & Parks)
• August 24, 2020 Defend Alberta Parks: Show your support of Alberta's parks by requesting a lawn sign (CPAWS SAB & NAB, Alberta Environmental Network)
• August 24, 2020 Losing protection where we need it most (Alberta Wilderness Association)
• August 10, 2020 Optimizing Alberta Parks? Without Public Consultation, the Government has announced removal of 175 sites from the parks system (Environmental Law Centre)