#brian jean

Mr. Rowswell: could the minister please inform the House how a day such as a fossil fuel appreciation day could be a great opportunity to draw attention to the value of these resources to Albertans and to the province?

Brian Jean, the United Conservative Party candidate and former leader of the Wildrose Party, will claim victory in the Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche byelection Tuesday night, CBC News projects.

Jean, 59, has a commanding lead in the byelection, with about 66 per cent of voters choosing the UCP candidate on their ballots as of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

NDP candidate Ariana Mancini trails Jean, capturing about 16.8 per cent of the vote. Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta candidate Paul Hinman is in third with 12.4 per cent.

The official results will be released March 25.

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Member Miyashiro: Given that high-wall mining involves mining coal seams of an open-pit mine, meaning there needs to be an open pit before high-wall mining can begin ... to the minister: if there’s no open-pit mining and there’s no technical way to extract eastern slopes coal without it, does he agree that there cannot be any open-pit coal mining on the eastern slopes?

Mr. Jean: We’re going to do a great job on protecting Albertans, the water, the air, the animals, human life.

Member Miyashiro: This government claims Alberta’s coal modernization initiative will ban open-pit mining in the foothills and keep selenium out of our water. It will prohibit mountaintop removal mining and require that any new mining must use techniques that prevent adding selenium to waterways. Albertans remain skeptical. They’ve seen the realities with Teck in B.C., who spent billions to remove selenium from water and failed. They know the coal is under the mountaintops and the best way to get at it is to dig it out. To the minister of energy: what is the difference between mountaintop removal mining and open-pit mining?

Mr. Jean: I thank the member for the question, Mr. Speaker. Albertans are very curious and are concerned, and that’s why they know that this government is going to do a better job than the former NDP government was trying to do and certainly better than the B.C. government is doing with coal mining in B.C.

Ms Al-Guneid: Given that the Grassy Mountain project will bring mountaintop-removal mining to the majestic Rockies and given that the project already had a fair hearing and was rejected for causing too much environmental damage for too little economic benefit and given the rejection of the mine is one of the only decisions from the AER that inspired public confidence, yet the Energy minister interfered with the AER regulatory process to revive the project, why does the minister think he knows more than the joint expert panel that reviewed and rejected the mine?

Mr. Jean: I don’t think so, Mr. Speaker. I listen to Albertans, I listen to experts, and being in this place, I get to listen to them. I have that great opportunity.

Mr. Yao: To the Minister of Energy and Minerals: what can you tell us about this program and its effectiveness?