‘We need an industry’: Crowsnest Pass residents voting on support for new coal mine

It’s been more than 40 years since coal was king in the scenic Crowsnest Pass of southwestern Alberta, but a referendum vote Monday could sway a contentious debate on bringing it back.

The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, home to about 6,000, is asking residents to say yes or no to a straightforward question: “Do you support the development and operations of the metallurgical coal mine at Grassy Mountain?”

Advance voting began days earlier and while Monday’s result won’t be binding or have any influence on regulatory or legal challenges, it’s another factor in the ongoing, polarizing public debate of economy versus environment.

Crowsnest Pass Mayor Blair Painter supports the plan.

“The fact is we have been on a direction of supporting this project. We don’t have an industry. We need an industry,” Painter said in an interview.

“Our tax base is over 80 per cent residential. We’d like to ease that off our residents and this would give us the opportunity to be able to do that.”

Australia-based mining company Northback said it wants to develop the Grassy Mountain coal project at a site that was mined over 60 years ago but never properly restored. It says it would be reclaimed throughout the duration of the project.

Northback says metallurgical coal, which is used to make steel, is a basic building block for any economy, but opponents worry about the impact on downstream drinking water and the broader ecosystem.

The issue is still before Alberta’s energy regulator and opponents are also challenging the project through the courts.

There were a number of signs in the community ahead of the referendum: one reminding people to cast their votes and others with slogans such as “Vote yes to Grassy Mountain,” “I (love) Crowsnest Coal” and “We are a coal town.”

Heavy snow Monday didn’t stop a steady stream of voters from casting ballots in the Crowsnest Community Hall.

Steve Arbuckle’s grandparents lived in Coleman, one of the communities that make up Crowsnest Pass, and were miners.

“I know coal,” he said as he left the hall. “My whole family was miners or loggers.”

Arbuckle said he can see the pros and cons of bringing coal back to Crowsnest Pass, but the economy needs a boost.

“It could sure use something,” he said “Taxes are crazy for a person who owns a home.”

Tony Vastenhout, who grew up in Crowsnest Pass, said he’s nearing 70 and remembers how things were when there was still coal. There were three mines, and people had jobs.

“There were a lot of opportunities then and there are none for our kids now,” he said.

“I hope the vote goes yes. The economy needs the jobs here. We have nothing left here.”

David McIntyre, who along with his wife, Monica Field, were former managers of the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, have been vocal opponents to development in the area.

McIntyre, who lives about 10 kilometres downwind of the proposed mine, is worried about the noise and carcinogenic particles that would come with it.

He said they were told they are just outside the municipal boundary and are unable to vote and that there are hundreds more that moved in during the “post-coal era” who are also on the outside looking in.

“It appears very obvious that the community of Crowsnest Pass, to try and get this vote, are working very hard to ensure that the people they have voting, the old-school miners and families who are hoping for coal, (will) turn the tide,” McIntyre said in an interview.

McIntyre said if the mine does go ahead, it won’t mean long-term prosperity for the area.

“If it’s a-go, it won’t be the future of the Pass. It will be the short-term future of the Pass but won’t impact its long-term worth.”

For a century, King Coal reigned in the Crowsnest. The area, sitting on the provincial boundary with British Columbia, became the biggest coal centre in Alberta, out-producing other mining regions in the province.

Five of the original 10 coal communities that sprang up on the Alberta side of the Pass remain: Blairmore, Frank, Bellevue, Coleman and Hillcrest.

The last mine closed in 1983 as cheaper and safer open-pit mines opened on the British Columbia side of the pass.

But the Alberta government has since revised its policy to open up new areas of the province that had been off limits to open-pit mining since 1976.

Country singer-songwriter Corb Lund, who has been speaking against coal mining on the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies, held a benefit concert last week with proceeds going to Crowsnest Headwaters, a local group committed to protecting the area.

McIntyre said he was a bit nervous attending the event since his views have not been popular.

“We had an axe head driven through our windshield and tires slashed,” he said.

“I can’t attribute it to anything other than the fact we have spoken out on issues, water-related issues and mine-related issues.

“It’s a huge issue on both sides — and volatile, I would say.”