A public discussion was held in the town of Bienfait on Thursday regarding the future of coal-fired power in Saskatchewan, and the rest of the country.
The meeting was hosted by Souris-Moose Mountain MP Robert Kitchen, who stated that the purpose of the evening was not for him to speak to the attendees, but to have the attendees speak to him, and to suggest ideas that could be useful in the argument of the importance of coal power in Canada.
“Why I’m here is that I, with a couple of my colleagues from Alberta that have coal mining in their ridings, as well as coal energy in their ridings, we obviously have some big concerns, for you, for the communities and the big impact that this will have on this part of Saskatchewan as well as Alberta,” said Kitchen.
“When you see what has happened in Ontario when they shut down coal, and the devastation that happened in the communities, as well as the cost of electricity, we want to try and approach that in a proactive way.”
“What our plan today is, is to talk to our constituents and over the next month or so and devise a policy as to where we should go with coal mining and the coal industry. We believe that you, who work in the industry, know a lot more about these things than we do as politicians, so we need your help to create a policy that … we can hopefully pitch to our leadership such that we will hopefully put that in our platform for the next election.”
Roughly 40 people were in attendance, with many voicing their concerns.
Several members of the Bienfait community were in attendance, including Mayor Paul Carroll. Also in attendance were Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig, Torquay Mayor Michael Strachan and Jackie Wall, executive director for the Estevan Chamber of Commerce.
Several attendees voiced their growing concerns over the possible loss of jobs throughout Saskatchewan if coal power is phased out. Another frequent concern was the federal government’s disinterests in the idea of investing money into carbon capture technology, and continued development in the coal-fired power sector.
Among those with growing concerns was Ludwig, who voiced concerns over the possible loss of jobs at the Boundary Dam Power Station.
“Everyone here is very concerned and everyone should be,” said Ludwig.
“We absolutely are hopeful that clean coal has a future, and we need it to have a future with Unit 6 and Shand Power Station to keep the employment going, because otherwise we will be totally decimated in this area. We are talking large dollars, we are talking $50 or $60 million a year in this economy that the power plants and the mine bring, and if you take those out it will be unbelievable.”
Kitchen noted during the meeting that he believes the only way to truly preserve the future of coal power, is for the Conservative Party to beat out the Liberal Party in the 2019 election.
He also stated that while he strongly believes there is a future for green power, such as wind and solar, he does not believe those sources will be viable as the primary source of power for quite some time.
“I’m all in favour of green technology,” said Kitchen.
“But the length of time to properly do these things is not five years, it’s closer to 50 years, and in that time we’re still going to need energy, and with the coal we have here, we have the potential in Saskatchewan to have a booming economy, we just need to secure the future of coal.”
One attendee noted that “clean” options, such as wind, come with their share of environmental impact, stating that large numbers of migratory birds are killed annually after being struck by turbine blades.
Strachan said he believes that a coal research and information centre needs to be built to continue educating the public about the benefits of coal power.
“Our policy should be talking about how clean and green coal technology is within Canada,” said Strachan.
“We need to become a leader throughout the world of reliably clean coal technology, and help countries in different parts of the world who are reliant on coal to become greener, and use the carbon capture technology that we have available to us.”
Kitchen agreed with the comments made by Strachan, saying that education, in his mind, will be the most proactive solution when it comes to preserving the future of coal power in Canada.
“If we don’t start to speak up for the good things that we do, we’re going to be washed over by the wave,” said Kitchen.
Also largely discussed during the meeting were the federal governments proposed carbon tax, and the recent purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
“Ultimately what you have right now is a Liberal government that wants to kick everything down the road,” said Kitchen.
“They don’t want to make a decision. We saw that with the pipeline … they don’t want to touch things. They don’t want to do the carbon tax, deep down in their gut, so they are kicking it down the line in the hopes that the provinces will finally come on board and the provinces will do it, and you will get mad at the province and not the federal government.”
Carroll also stated that he believes education is the smartest idea moving forward, and the best hope for coal power’s future.
“We need to educate our neighbours and our friends about the benefits of coal and the base power it produces,” said Carroll.
“We need to put the emphasis on these things, and we need to look at the other opportunities coal can provide … I think that’s what we really need to take away from tonight.”
Although tempers flared from some of the meeting’s participants regarding the possibility of job losses, the meeting had a very positive message throughout the evening, with many agreeing that education, not anger, is the best way to secure a future for coal-fired power in the country.
