Hanna, Alta, could be hit hard by coal phase-out

The town of Hanna,northeast of Calgary, could be hard hit by the coal phase-out in Alberta.

The Sheerness coal mine, originallyslated for closure in 2040 by the federal government, will now be shuttered by 2030. The mine, along with the coal-fired generating plant,is amajor employer in the area.

"If the generating station and the coal mine both shut down, that's 200-plus well-paying jobs," said Hanna Mayor Chris Warwick.

"That's 7.5 per cent of our population in Hanna. To put that in perspective, in the City of Calgary, that would be 90,000 jobs."

Warwick said coal mining is much more than just a jobto many who live and work in the area.

"These people that have been doing this all theirlife, now they are going to be doing something different and it's not going to be coal mining," he said.

"They do it because they like it. They do it because they want to be here, not because they have to be."

Call for a town hall

A government-appointed panel created last September is expected to visit towns affected by the phase-out before the spring, but local Wildrose MLA Rick Strankman wants the Alberta government to host a town hall in Hanna.

"Its important that the people have sense of closure to what the government is going to bring forward," he said.

Strankman said a meeting would help the province understand the impact of the loss of nearly 200 coal-related jobs.

The town has hired a private consulting firm to measure the impact the loss of the coal mine would have, and will present those findings to the province.

The town hopes to use that report to negotiate a transition plan.

The early shutdown of the mine is part of the Alberta government's plan to transition away from coal and towards renewables like wind and solar.

Coal is the second biggest emitter of CO2 in the province, after the energy industry.

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