Questions raised after Cape Breton coal mine holds Alberta job fair

The Donkin Mine site in Sydney, N.S.

With Cape Breton’s Donkin coal mine moving closer to production, the company has gone to Alberta in search of miners.

But while many in the area are happy about the economic opportunity, some are upset Kameron Collieries isn’t looking local first.

“I’m pretty sure there’s a few guys around, including myself, 60 years old, that did all kinds of mining and can go in there for the next four to five years,” says Donkin, N.S. resident Art Baxter.

Located northeast of Sydney, the resurrection of Cape Breton’s only underground coal mine is expected to bring more than 120 jobs back to the cash-strapped region.

Kameron Collieries held its first job fair Tuesday in Grande Cache, Alta., where a coal mine recently closed. More than 200 people lost their jobs when Grande Cache Coal halted underground mining production on Christmas Eve, citing the deteriorating global market for coal.

While the company has said it hopes to hire former Cape Bretoners now living in Alberta, Coun. Kevin Saccary thinks a job fair should be held locally.

“Realizing their priority is qualified individuals, I believe we have all kinds here in Cape Breton,” says Saccary. “I certainly don’t think it should take much effort for the company to have a job fair here.”

Kameron Collieries hopes to cut its first piece of coal in late spring, but local resident Stewart Wadden says he will remain cautiously optimistic until the mine is fully operational.

“Let’s just say that I’ll be happy when it’s open and producing. That hasn’t happened yet,” says Wadden.

One reason for skepticism is declining demand, as energy companies are pushed to switch away from coal in favour of power generation that emits less pollution.

Ontario eliminated coal power in 2014 and Alberta’s premier said late last year that that province will phase out coal by 2030.

Even China, by far the world’s biggest coal consumer, has announced a three-year moratorium on new coal plants in an effort to reduce dangerous levels of air pollution.

The depressed market has led to dozens of coal mine closures in the U.S., and the total elimination of coal mining in the U.K.

But Nova Scotia has said it won’t stop using coal until at least 2042, making the province’s power utility a possible customer in the coal market that has so many locals hopeful for work.

As for the Alberta job fair, Wadden points out that many Cape Breton miners are either retired or now living “out west.”

“A lot of the young fellas from here are working out west, so you need to get the people. Most of the other people are retired,” he says.

Meanwhile, Saccary says he will be pushing for jobs to be filled by local people first.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kyle Moore and The Canadian Press