Not enough time to put Water Not Coal question on referendum ballot: Smith

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says a coal mining question will not be added to the October referendum.

During a Wednesday press conference, Smith said there’s not enough time to put it on the ballot.

“The Forever Canada petition went before a committee of MLAs,” Smith said, “so it’s both parties and then they took hearings, got legal advice and then made a determination about how to proceed with that -- and so this particular legislative proposal will follow the same pathway,” Smith told reporters.

The premier previously said she was prepared to put the question on the referendum if enough signatures were verified.

Smith now says that won’t be possible, since Elections Alberta set June 1 as the the deadline for any additions.

Last week, musician and rancher Corb Lund dropped off the petition with Elections Alberta. The elections watchdog has 21 days to verify the signatures.

Lund says volunteers collected more than 200,000 signatures — a 20,000 boost above the 178,000 required.

The petition demands the province end all new coal mining and exploration in the eastern slops of the Rocky Mountains.

The concern is that mining impacts water.

The premier says this particular citizen initiated petition is complicated, with land rights that need to be considered.

She also pointed to a 2024 non-binding referendum where 71 per cent of Crowsnest Pass voters approved the Grassy Mountain project, but 200,000 people who live downstream were not allowed to vote, including Lund.

Smith said it will be up to a committee to determine the path forward and that committee won’t be formed until September.

The petition timeline was set when it started in February -- and Smith had previously suggested it might be possible to get it on the referendum, but now she says the deadline was weeks ago.

CTV News has reached out to Lund and Elections Alberta for comment.