The True Post (Web News)The Alberta government has paid more than $140 million to settle one of five lawsuits related to its coal mining policies, following a major policy reversal.
According to a notice published online last week by Atrum Coal, the company agreed to drop its lawsuit and return its land to the province in exchange for the settlement. The company stated in the notice that it received approximately $137 million last week and expects to receive an additional $6 million after completing some reclamation work. The settlement funds will be distributed among shareholders.
Atrum, which initially sought more than $3.5 billion from the province, is one of two companies that announced settlements last month. The second company, Evolve Power, has not yet disclosed details and stated last month that its settlement was agreed to in principle but terms were still being finalized. Evolve expects a formal agreement to be completed by September.
The payout to Atrum sparked criticism on Wednesday. Opposition NDP leader Naheed Nenshi said Albertans should be outraged, claiming that nearly $150 million in taxpayer money was lost due to the government’s policy reversal. “This money could have gone to teachers, nurses, schools, or hospitals,” said Nenshi. “Instead, it’s ending up in the pockets of coal company shareholders and directors.”
Stephen Legault, Alberta’s senior manager for the advocacy group Environmental Defence, called the payout a “stunning waste of taxpayer dollars.” He argued that if the United Conservative government had not first scrapped its coal policy and then reversed course due to public pressure, Alberta wouldn’t be in a position of having to make such payouts to protect headwaters from coal mining.
“Every decision made by Energy Minister Brian Jean and Premier Danielle Smith to appease wealthy foreign coal mining companies puts Alberta further behind in the global shift toward energy transition,” Legault said in a statement Wednesday.
Jean’s office responded in a statement saying the government has no plans to re-lease Atrum’s former land and that the company’s obligation to complete reclamation work shows the province’s commitment to protecting the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and the Alberta Foothills.
Atrum and Evolve are among five companies that have collectively sued Alberta for over $16 billion. Even after settling with Atrum, Alberta could still face more than $12 billion in remaining claims. Evolve has claimed $1.75 billion in damages.
Four of the five companies including Atrum and Evolve argue that Alberta seized their lands when it abruptly reinstated a long-standing coal policy in 2022. This decision froze exploration and development in much of the province. The policy, which had been rescinded less than two years earlier, had encouraged companies to buy land and leases for coal projects.
Earlier this year, Alberta scrapped that coal policy again and replaced it with a new regulatory framework. At the time, Premier Smith stated that one of the motivations behind ending the policy was to avoid large legal payouts from taxpayers’ money.
The fifth company, Northback Holdings, which was granted exploratory permits in May for its controversial Grassy Mountain project, has alleged that Alberta’s regulatory process is flawed.
Nenshi on Wednesday called on the government to make public the terms of the settlements with Evolve and other companies, if any additional deals have been reached. However, Jean’s office stated that the details remain confidential.
“The Alberta government is working to resolve these matters fairly,” Jean’s office said in an email, “and the outcomes will reflect the wishes and interests of Albertans.”
