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Alberta to appeal judge’s ruling ordering release of documents on Rocky Mountain coal mining

Traffic travels along the Trans Canada Highway past Mount Rundle of the Rocky Mountains near Canmore, Alta., Monday, April 24, 2023. Documents released under Alberta Freedom of Information laws confirm the United Conservative government was talking with the coal industry for "years" about relaxing a policy that protected the Rocky Mountains from open-pit mines. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Alberta is appealing a judge’s ruling that ordered the release of internal documents on coal mining in the province’s Rocky Mountains.

The lawyer for the ranchers who requested the documents under freedom of information laws is confirming the decision from Alberta Energy.

King’s Bench Justice Kent Teskey ruled earlier this month that the United Conservative government must release thousands of pages of internal communications pertaining to its plan to remove decades-old protections from those landscapes.

Click to play video: 'Advanced application’ for Rocky Mountain coal mine stirs controversy'
Advanced application’ for Rocky Mountain coal mine stirs controversy

Teskey also warned the government that the courts would resist granting requests for judicial reviews if they were seen as delay tactics to frustrate the release of information.

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The government’s decision comes after Premier Danielle Smith promised in the legislature that the government would release whatever documents the court requires.

Alberta Energy was not immediately available to comment on its decision.

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