Corb Lund questions Elections Alberta over verification process

Alberta country singer Corb Lund says he is consulting lawyers about Elections Alberta’s verification process after his petition was deemed unsuccessful.

The man who spearheaded a petition to stop coal mining in the Alberta Rockies says he’s meeting with lawyers after the province decided not to send it to a referendum.

Corb Lund says he questions whether Elections Alberta was fair in its process to validate petition signatures.

The “Water Not Coal” petition got more than 207,000 signatures, but Elections Alberta tossed more than 35,000 out.

Lund says that seems like a “ridiculously large number” given the thoroughness and dedication of volunteers.

On Monday, Premier Danielle Smith thanked everyone for participating in the citizen initiative process and said she told Lund if the petition was not successful, the government would look at addressing some of the concerns raised, especially when it comes to water safety.

“We know that this has been an issue for some time,” Smith said.

“We’ve responded to it through the various policies that we have.

“There may be more that we can do, but we’ll continue to have that conversation.”

Lund says the group has 30 days to put the issue before a judge for a review.