Corb Lund's coal petition enters final push before June 10 deadline
The country musician needs 178,000 signatures to force a provincial vote on banning coal mining in the Rockies.
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Corb Lund has been collecting petition signatures for nearly four months and says he's exhausted, but the deadline is almost here. He needs about 178,000 names by June 10 to force a referendum that could ban coal development in Alberta's Rocky Mountains.
"I don't trust governments to do anything, but all we can do is follow the rules, and do it openly," Lund said in an interview before performing a sold-out show at a downtown Edmonton nightclub, where he worked the sidewalk asking people to sign.
The issue has been a seesaw. In 2020, the province removed decades-old protections from the eastern slopes, then issued coal leases. Public backlash forced a reversal. The government reinstated protections and stopped selling exploration leases, but has since announced a plan to ban mountaintop removal and new open-pit mines — regulations that are still being finalized.
Lund's first petition application was approved last year, then cancelled when Premier Danielle Smith's government changed the rules for citizen-led petitions in December. He reapplied, got approved again, and began gathering signatures February 11.
"We've been flip-flopped on and nickeled and dimed and loopholed so many times on this that we're asking for firm, robust legislation prohibiting coal mining on the eastern slopes," he said.
Lund estimates he has over 3,000 volunteers helping. A successful petition would force the government to either pass a law banning coal mining or send it to a provincewide vote. For now, the clock is ticking.