A man who helped shape Premier Peter Lougheed's policies that stopped coal mining on the eastern slopes back in the 1970's is opposing the UCP government's lifting of the moratorium.

David Luff says Premier Lougheed was committed to maintaining a balance between resource development and environmental protection, to provide a desirable quality of life, not just at that time but well into the future.

"He recognized and his government recognized that in the eastern slopes watershed protection, recreation and tourism were the highest priorities," he says. "He initiated extensive public consultations through what was then known as the Environment Conservation Authority to meet with Albertans, hear from Albertans what they wanted to see happen in the eastern slopes, not only for that moment in time, but the future."

He says the government did three years of research on resource values, putting together the background and values Albertans wanted to see at the time.

Lougheed wanted to make sure, according to Luff, that coal development was done in such a way as to bring and maintain maximum benefits to Albertans now and in the future and that no development would be allowed unless the government was assured that it could proceed without irreparable harm to the environment and reclamation of the land could be done.

He says it's not just the coal mine itself that would tear up the land in the area.

"The mines have to bring their coal from the mine site and get it down to the railhead," Luff says. "The railhead would be the Crowsnest Pass, so that means if there's a mine up at Cabin Ridge at the south end of Kananaskis Country there'll be a set of rail lines and transportation infrastructure running down those valleys to get out to the Crowsnest Pass."

He says there's the potential for three or four more mines between Grassy Mountain and Kananaskis Country.

Luff says the mines won't be the economic boost and job creator it thinks they'll be.

"The mines themselves will employ, at most, maybe 400 people per mine on a permanent basis, contrast that to what Premier Kenney's government put forward in May of last year, it's their Alberta Recovery Plan, and it talks about tourism. Tourism, according to the Kenney recover plan employs over 70,000 Albertans and adds $7-billion dollars annually to Alberta's economy."

He says Premier Lougheed's government did a great deal of consultation while the UCP government silently changed the rules late on a Friday before a long weekend hoping no one would notice.

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