Western Standard - November 21, 2025


Smith on Ottawa demands and Corb Lund’s anti-coal referendum push


Episode Stats

Length

2 minutes

Words per Minute

182.06554

Word Count

513

Sentence Count

36


Summary

In this episode, we speak with the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau. We discuss his approach to coal mining, the need to protect the environment, and the need for the government to support clean energy and clean technologies.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hi, Premier. Will Vassar with the Western Standard.
00:00:02.620 You previously drew a line in the sand over nine points.
00:00:05.560 We've recently heard rumours of a pipeline.
00:00:08.440 The question would be, what about those other points?
00:00:11.120 The discussion we've been having with the federal government has been three parts.
00:00:16.000 One is a new bitumen pipeline to Asian markets.
00:00:18.940 Another is the Pathways Project, so that we can have a lower carbon intensity barrel going through that pipeline.
00:00:25.520 And the third aspect is creating an investment environment so that all of our producers are willing to invest in expanding their operations.
00:00:34.540 And that means addressing the lion's share of the nine bad laws.
00:00:39.140 So if there's going to be an MOU, it will have to include all three.
00:00:43.980 And then the second question would be, country singer Corb Lund recently announced that he's starting a citizens initiative to hold a referendum against coal mining.
00:00:53.640 He credited you as part of the inspiration for wanting to do that.
00:00:57.580 Could you comment on that?
00:00:58.600 Maybe he'll write a song about me.
00:01:00.420 I'm glad I'm able to be his muse.
00:01:02.980 I support citizen-initiated referenda.
00:01:05.480 I think it's really important that people have their say.
00:01:08.100 So the rules are out there, and I'll watch with great interest.
00:01:11.880 But what I can say is that, you know, we heard the message.
00:01:14.260 That's why we changed the coal policy.
00:01:15.640 No open-pit mining, no mountaintop removal, high standards for addressing the issues around selenium, which is a problem with any type of mining when you do end up exposing the surface.
00:01:29.340 We've seen a number of mining operations now switch to underground mining, which is fantastic.
00:01:33.780 We want to see more of that.
00:01:34.980 And we've also been engaging with the companies that are suing us to buy back the leases and the freehold rights.
00:01:43.500 We already have 30,000 hectares of freehold and mineral leases for coal that are now back in crown hands.
00:01:53.100 And so we'll continue to have those negotiations to make sure that we're protecting our pristine areas.
00:01:57.560 But I think the world knows that are the – I think most people know that there's a big difference with metallurgical coal.
00:02:06.460 You need it to make steel.
00:02:08.020 And if you love the renewable sector, you know there's a lot of steel that goes into making wind turbines.
00:02:13.400 If you love the solar industry, you know you need the coal to be able to make those panels.
00:02:17.060 So we believe that if those are the kinds of investments that those on the left would like to see, then they're going to have to also support some of the mining operations that allow for those as well as all the mining operations that allow for batteries to be produced.
00:02:31.980 So we have a challenging conversation going.
00:02:34.280 I totally get that.
00:02:35.460 But we are going to find the right balance to make sure that we're protecting the environment but also allowing those projects to go ahead.
00:02:41.000 And we'll see what kind of reaction he gets to his petition.
00:02:44.160 Thank you.
00:02:47.060 Thank you.