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[The Alberta Environmental Policy Series highlights the many environmental challenges and related government policies in Alberta. SAGE welcomes feedback on these topics.] In 2020, the 1976 Coal Policy was rescinded without public consultation. Significant areas of the Eastern Slopes land were opened to coal leases, initiating a widespread response from concerned landowners, environmentalists, and Indigenous…
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(Note: All graphics sourced from Annual Report, www.lethbridge.ca/news/posts/waste-environment-annual-report/) Lethbridge waste diversion efforts have successfully reduced annual waste rates by 34%, from the 2013 baseline of 330 kg/capita to 213 kg/capita. The target for 2030 is a 50% reduction of the residential waste stream (compared to 2013 rates), to 140 kg/capita. Overall, the Waste & Recyling…
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Extended Producer Responsibility? Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is designed to shift the financial burden of recycling single-use plastics, paper and packaging to the companies that produce (or import) them. Financial incentives are expected to encourage companies to find innovative ways to recycle more materials and produce less packaging waste. The process of centralizing the collection…
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Provincial Priorities Act (Bill 18)& Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act(Bill 20) Infrastructure Canada data indicates that the average expected useful life of a single detached home in Alberta is 65 years. The data collected was based on social and affordable housing assets in both urban and rural settings. This means that a home built today is…
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The Government of Alberta put a moritorium on renewable energy projects in Alberta from August 2023 until October 2024. During this period, almost 11 GW of of clean energy projects were withdrawn from the devleopment process with the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). With the lifting of the moratorium, the renewable energy industry was faced…
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The Mature Asset Strategy (MAS) represents the working group deliberations chaired by David Yager – an adviser to the premier and an appointed member of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) board of directors. The stated intention is to address the financial and environmental risks of unfunded industrial (oil & gas) liabilities and restore public confidence in…
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Wildlife Amendment Act (Bill 41) … or Trophy Hunting in the Rockies: In July 2024, the Government of Alberta reinstated a grizzly bear hunt which had been limited by a moratorium in 2006. In 2010, the grizzly bear was designated as threatened with extinction (endangered) in Alberta, and in 2020 The Alberta Grizzly Bear Recovery…
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In September 2025, West Fraser Timber Company presented a Forestry Management Plan (FMP) that describes its proposal to remove timber over the next decade from public lands along the eastern slopes, from Kaninaskis Country in the north to the Castle Parks in the south. The proposed annual cut is 32% greater than the previous plan…
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Water Amendment Act, 2025 (Bill 7): At the end of October 2025, the Government of Alberta introduced Bill 7, Water Amendment Act. The principle changes include: 1. Permitting “low-risk” inter-basin transfers allowing water to be moved from one river basin to another; 2. Combining the Peace-Slave and Athabasca River Basins into a single basin; and…
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Submitted by WasteLess to the consultation on the amendment to the Single-Use Plastics Prohibition Regulations. WasteLess is a committee of Environment Lethbridge comprised of individuals from a variety of interests who for over a decade have worked to inspire waste reduction in our community. A recent focus has been on reducing single-use plastics and informing…
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From Crowsnest Headwaters substack: Perversely, Fisheries and Oceans grants West Fraser permission to destroy critical habitat for more clear cut logging devastation in Hidden Creek By Lorne Fitch If you compare a map of the historic distribution of our native trout to their present status you’ll see there’s been a drastic reduction to the places…