moved for leave to introduce Bill C-308, An Act to amend the Impact Assessment Act.
Madam Speaker, I rise today to table my bill, Bill C-308, an act to amend the Impact Assessment Act. It is a great privilege to table this legislation on behalf of the incredible community members, activists, indigenous people, farmers, ranchers and Albertan who has raised their voice against coal mining in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta.
For generations, Albertans have enjoyed the majesty of the Rocky Mountains, their peaks, forests, lakes and rivers. Their beauty awes us. The mountains have made Alberta a destination for nature lovers, hunters, anglers and outdoor sports enthusiasts, providing billions in tourism dollars and tens of thousands of jobs. I grew up hiking, skiing and camping in these mountains, and I am raising my two children to have deep respect and love for these wild places as well.
For generations, Albertans have understood the importance of our Rockies, so for generations we have protected the Rocky Mountains and their slopes from the devastation of coal mining, until now. Now our beloved Rocky Mountains, their diverse ecosystems and life-giving waters are at risk. The provincial Conservative government has opened the Rocky Mountains and the eastern slopes for new coal mine development.
Foreign-owned coal mining companies, trailing a legacy of environmental devastation behind them, are at this very moment fencing off public land, building roads, hauling equipment and drilling exploratory holes for massive open-pit and mountaintop removal mines through Alberta's Rocky Mountains and eastern slopes.
These mines will divert millions of litres of water for their operations in areas where water is already scarce and needed to sustain delicate ecosystems, farms and ranches, as well as the millions of Canadians living downstream. These mines will damage ecosystems, pollute rivers and streams, and destroy our beloved mountains forever. Coal mining is an industry from our past. Coal mining is not our future. Tens of thousands of Albertans have signed petitions—
