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Minister to Yukon gov’t corporations: no more coal
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-26 11:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Environment, Mining, Governance]Yukon Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Ted Laking issued a directive to the Yukon Energy Corporation and the Yukon Development Corporation prohibiting them from pursuing or considering coal-fired power projects. The directive coincided with an opposition motion brought by NDP MLA Carmen Gustafson, which urged the territorial government to direct the Yukon Utilities Board under section 17 of the Public Utilities Act to reject any applications for energy projects using coal. The political debate was prompted by Vancouver-based Strategic Metals proposing a coal exploration project near Braeburn, Yukon, and evaluating coal-fired power generation despite the federal government's mandate to phase out coal-fired power by 2030.
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Minister directs Yukon gov’t corporations not to mull over coal-fired power projects
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-26 11:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Environment, Mining, Governance]Yukon Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Ted Laking issued a directive instructing the Yukon Development Corporation and the Yukon Energy Corporation to refrain from pursuing or considering coal-fired power generation projects. The ministerial directive coincides with an opposition motion brought by NDP MLA Carmen Gustafson, which urged the territorial government to direct the Yukon Utilities Board under section 17 of the Public Utilities Act to reject any applications for energy projects using coal. The debate highlights ongoing friction surrounding Vancouver-based Strategic Metals' coal exploration project near Braeburn, Yukon, and its potential application for power generation despite federal plans to phase out coal-fired power by 2030.
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First Nations Chief threatens legal action against province if tailings water is released
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-09-21 15:59:11.0
Tags: [Alberta, Indigenous, Energy, Environment, Resources, Mining]Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam has threatened a 20-year legal battle against the Alberta government if provincial or federal regulators approve plans to treat and release oilsands mining wastewater from companies like Suncor Energy Inc. into the Athabasca watershed. The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Mikisew Cree First Nation strongly oppose the "treat and release" approach for the 1.4 billion cubic meters of fluid tailings, citing severe local health concerns and threats to Treaty rights along the 1,230-kilometer river. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith stated that wastewater release is governed under federal jurisdiction and oilsands leases, while Environment Minister Grant Hunter maintains that treated mine water release is necessary to achieve site reclamation and return land to a self-sustaining boreal forest.
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Environmental Assessment Bulletin
Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-09-18 17:40:34.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Environment, Energy, Mining, Infrastructure]The Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change registered two major industrial undertakings under Part 10 of the Environmental Protection Act on September 18, 2026. Pittman’s Enterprises Limited proposed the Lodge Bay Quarry, a four-hectare aggregate project located off Route 510 in southern Labrador to supply regional construction. Meanwhile, Triple Point Resources withdrew its prior registration (EA 2413) and resubmitted the Fischells Salt Dome Power Generation Project (EA 2436) in the Bay St. George area, which integrates a wind farm, salt caverns, marine intake pipelines, a Bottom Brook terminal transmission line, and Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage technology to manage renewable energy and explore potential export opportunities. Public comments for both projects are open until October 24, 2026, with the Minister's decisions due by November 2, 2026.
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An alternative to treat and release? Alberta to approve $4.6 million grant for tailings ponds water treatment research
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-09-17 18:10:50.0
Tags: [Alberta, Energy, Environment, Mining, Technology, Indigenous]Emissions Reduction Alberta offered a conditional $4.6 million grant to Tũ Nipi Water Solutions—an Indigenous-owned venture formed by Fort McKay Oil Services and BioLargo Canada based in the Fort McKay First Nation—to fund research and development of water-treatment solutions for tailings ponds in the Athabasca oilsands region. The funding, expected to roll out in early 2027 for closed-lab testing, aims to develop alternatives to controversial treat-and-release wastewater proposals for handling the more than 1.4 billion cubic metres of fluid tailings currently stored in the province. The initiative aligns with recommendations from Alberta's Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee and incorporates traditional knowledge alongside advanced cleantech applications.
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They're two of the biggest proposed mining projects in the Yukon. How will they be powered?
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-15 10:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Mining, Energy, Environment, Climate, Resources]Two major proposed mining projects in the Yukon—Western Copper and Gold’s Casino Mining Corporation project and Talamore Mining’s Coffee Gold mine project—are planning their on-site power generation systems using liquefied natural gas, diesel, and solar power. The Casino project anticipates emitting roughly 16,310 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually and is evaluating a future connection to the proposed Yukon-B.C. Grid Connect intertie, while the Coffee Gold project expects to emit approximately 91,900 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually over its 11-year operating span. Both companies anticipate paying the industrial carbon tax while pursuing emission reduction strategies such as overhead cable systems for haul trucks and expanded solar arrays.
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‘Environmental racism’: Fort Chipewyan residents protest proposed treat-and-release plan for tailings water
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-09 12:00:00.0
Tags: [Alberta, National, Environment, Energy, Mining, Indigenous]Residents of Fort Chipewyan, Alberta—including members of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Mikisew Cree First Nation, and Fort Chipewyan Métis community—protested a proposed treat-and-release plan by Suncor Energy to discharge treated oilsands tailings water into the Athabasca River. Suncor aims to begin operating its water treatment plant and releasing treated tailings by 2030, a proposal supported by recommendations from the Alberta oilsands mine water steering committee to manage over 380 million cubic metres of mine water and 1.5 billion cubic metres of fluid tailings. Federal officials from the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Nature noted that no federal effluent regulation is currently in place for oilsands mines, meaning such operations remain subject to the general prohibition against releasing deleterious substances under Section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act.
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More Nova Scotians add their names to petition calling for return of uranium ban
Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
Date: 2026-09-08 16:34:55.0
Tags: [Nova Scotia, Mining, Energy, Environment, Resources, Governance]More than 10,000 Nova Scotians have signed a public petition calling on Premier Tim Houston's government to reinstate a provincial ban on uranium mining. The petition includes over 8,000 existing signatures alongside more than 2,000 new signatures being tabled by the opposition Liberals and NDP at the Nova Scotia legislature. The ban, which previously required mining operations to cease if uranium was discovered at greater than 100 parts per million, was repealed by the Progressive Conservative government in March 2025. Petition organizers, community groups, and medical professionals such as Dr. Catherine Cervin of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment argue that lifting the ban risks releasing radioactive material into air and water, while Premier Houston maintains that resource development is necessary to improve the provincial economy.
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Company works to sell Yukon on coal-fired electricity amid push to phase it out
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-08-28 22:46:19.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Mining, Resources, Environment, Climate]Vancouver-based Strategic Metals has proposed developing the Division Mountain deposit southwest of Braeburn, Yukon, to fuel a proposed 100-megawatt coal-fired power plant and open pit coal mine. The facility would burn 500,000 tonnes of coal annually for over a century to address the territory's growing energy deficit and recent grid strains. The proposal faces intense criticism from researchers and conservationists, including Eyab Al-Aini of the Canadian Climate Institute and Sebastian Jones of the Yukon Conservation Society, due to a lack of carbon capture and storage details, greenhouse gas emissions that are double those of natural gas, and the federal government's 2030 phase-out pledge for unabated coal plants.
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