Albertans won’t find out if there’s coal in their stockings until after Christmas.
Energy Minister Sonya Savage has promised to release reports early in the new year that will determine the future of coal mining in the province’s beloved Rocky Mountain foothills and eastern slopes.
One report is to sum up months of submissions from Albertans, the other will make recommendations.
Mining opponents including Craig Snodgrass, the mayor of the foothills community of High River, say there’s no middle ground.
Snodgrass says the whole eastern slopes share the same environmental values, and you either allow mining in them — or you don’t.
Peter Doyle of Montem Resources, which hopes to build a mine in the Crowsnest Pass area, says he still believes that mines on previously disturbed sites are worth building.
Both sides agree they’re looking for clear direction from the government, and the earlier the better.