Bravo Corb! And Thank you. Water not Coal petition gets required number of signatures. It’s a legislative initiative, wanting “An Act to Prohibit Coal Mining on the Eastern Slopes,” not a referendum question. Simple and clear but I bet separatist Smith and her UCP will twist it like they did the Forever Canada petition.

‪@nigelb.bsky.social‬:

And remember Premier Smith, Corb’s petition is a LEGISLATIVE initiative.
He isn’t asking for yet another referendum question.

All he, and petition signatories want is An Act to Prohibit Coal Mining on the Eastern Slopes.
Nothing could be more clear.Smith and her vile Repuglican UCP will twist it, like they twisted the Forever Canadian petition.

Alberta country music artist Corb Lund says anti-coal petition drive a success, Next step is to hand names over to Elections Alberta for verification by Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press, Jun 08, 2026

Alberta country music artist Corb Lund says his team has collected enough signatures to compel the province to take action to stop coal mining on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

Lund didn’t say how many signatures were received, but almost 178,000 are required under provincial law.

• Corb Lund has his anti-coal mining petition application reapproved by Elections Alberta

The next step is to hand the names over to Elections Alberta for verification.

In a Monday news release, Lund said he will do that on the final official day of the petition campaign on Wednesday.

“Reaching this threshold proves what we’ve known all along — people care deeply about protecting our headwaters, our Rocky Mountains and our way of life,” he said.

The petition asked signers to endorse prohibiting new coal mining in the Rockies on the grounds it needlessly risks harming the environment, particularly water.

For the past four months, Lund’s effort — dubbed “Water Not Coal” — has gathered signatures at events, including a multi-day horseback ride from Longview, Alta., south of Calgary, to Edmonton.

The group said it registered more than 3,000 canvassers.

A successful petition would force Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative government to consider passing a law banning coal mining or sending it to a provincewide referendum.?????

Last month, Lund said even if they got the required signatures, he doesn’t necessarily trust Smith’s government will act on it.Me neither.

Laura Laing, a rancher and spokesperson for Water Not Coal, said they want permanent protection for water, agricultural corridors and the Rockies.

“This is what democracy looks like when citizens lead,” she said in the release Monday.

The UCP has said mining will be done with strict environmental safeguards while providing jobs and delivering a critical resource.Pffft. UCP lie. And lie. And lie. What they say means nothing. It’s impossible to mine for coal without contaminating water, air and land, and impossible not to corrupt communities as has already happened in the Crowsnest. It’s not a critical resource, humans can do without it.

Smiththe liar has said she supports direct democracy, and has invoked Lund’s petition as an example of her government giving voice to Albertans. Smith has already announced an Oct. 19 vote on whether the province should stay in Canada or kick-start a second referendum on whether to leave.

“I’ll be waiting to see whether or not [Lund and supporters] have the required signatures,” Smith said last month.

Her office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

Should the signatures be verified, the province’s citizen-led initiative law requires the proposal to be put before a committee of lawmakers to make a recommendation to government on what to do with it.

The legislature is not scheduled to reconvene until Oct. 27.

The province has been wrestling with its coal policy for years.

• Alberta regulator opens public input for Northback coal mining project proposal
• Alberta to pay $95M settlement to another coal company over policy change

In 2020, the UCP removed decades-old rules that had protected the eastern slopes of the Rockies from open-pit coal mining. The province began issuing leases.

After a firestorm of public pushback, the UCP reinstated the protections and stopped selling exploration leases.

It has since announced a plan to ban mountaintop removal and new open-pit mines, but new regulations are still being finalized and advanced projects could still proceed through the approval processmeaning that mountaintop removal and new open pit mines are not banned. Never trust a fucking thing UCP say or do.

Refer also to:

Excellent Jenny interview with High River Mayor Craig Snodgrass on Smith and her separatist UCP betraying Albertans helping Australian billionaire Gina Reinhart destroy Grassy Mountain, zip royalties for Albertans, few jobs, much air, water pollution and health harm, no matter what fancy new fangled lies they spew “committing” to reclaim the mine and treat the water. 22 more days to sign Corb Lund’s petition.

Those calling Corb Lund “Woke Bastard” for protecting our drinking water from Australian earth raping billionaires don’t know what “woke” is. They’re the bastards, not Corb. The anti-woke yell “freedom of speech” and “freedom” but don’t allow others to have what they demand. PS We said NO to coalmines. No is No!

Billionaire Gina Rinehart’s open pit mining, mountaintop removal Hanky Panky? Northback, prev. Benga Mining, asks feds to kill assessment for Grassy Mountain Top Removal Coal Project after 10 years of process, claiming they plan to reduce impacts. Not believable, the harms and water pollution will be just as bad, if not worse. Corb Lund: “… it’s a corrupt and crooked deal that will adversely affect our water and is going to leave a billion dollar mess for the taxpayer to clean up.”