Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Because yet again, for Saskatchewan coal workers, it does
UMWA International Auditor/Teller Jody Dukart, with a dragline in front of Shand Power Station. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
ESTEVAN – Imagine how gut wrenching it would be if your job, your mortgage, and your ability to feed your kids hinged on the whims of a 12-year-old on a crusade?
Because that’s exactly what coal miners and coal-fired power plant workers are going through, yet again, with the notice of appeal by a group of environmental activists who want to stop the government of Saskatchewan’s coal rejuvenation plan it its tracks.
You could hear it in the voice of Jody Dukart, international teller with the United Mine Workers of America. The exasperation was clearly evident in his voice the evening of Feb. 5, hours after he, and all other coal workers, found out that once again their very livelihoods rest in the balance.
The roller coaster these people have been on for the last decade has been brutal. For years, it looked like Saskatchewan was going to have to shut down its fleet of three coal-fired power stations, and with them, the two mines that supply them, as per federal coal regulations. The City of Estevan was expecting a third of its population to leave. Coronach would have fared much worse. And while the province has been building natural gas-fired power stations, it would need to build four more, in addition to the two built and third underway, just to replace our coal capacity. Alternatively, it would have to build five small modular reactors to do the same. And it would need to do all of that in just 1,424 days from today.
The drop dead date for coal-fired power generation was Dec. 31, 2029, or three years, 10 months and 25 days from now. But on June 18 of last year, Crown Investments Minister and Minister Responsible for SaskPower Jeremy Harrison announced a reprieve.
Saskatchewan would not be shutting down its coal fleet. Instead, it would be rejuvenating it, including bringing retired units back online, as a bridge to eventual nuclear power generation. Since then, work has begun on bringing Boundary Dam Unit 4 back online by June of this year. In all, the provincial government expects to spend $900 million on the refurbishments over four years. And while it is doing that, work has been progressing on development of small modular reactors, and just last week, an announcement was made on large nuclear reactors.
But it’s going to take a long time to build enough nuclear power to replace coal. And in the meantime, coal would still be needed. Last summer, coal workers, both at the mines and power plants, were able to take a sigh of relief.
- 0112 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_20250112 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_2025
- 0111 2026 SK Oil Show booth promo 010111 2026 SK Oil Show booth promo 01
- 0085 Turnbull snow removal call office0085 Turnbull snow removal call office
- 0110 SaskEnergy SEI_Network_Members_Burn_Brighter0110 SaskEnergy SEI_Network_Members_Burn_Brighter
- 0105 SaskEnergy Commitment to Safety0105 SaskEnergy Commitment to Safety
- 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
- 0100 Turnbull Project Manager0100 Turnbull Project Manager
- 0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
- 0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD
- 0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
- 0092 Turnbull projects big and small0092 Turnbull projects big and small
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001
And then along came Saskatoon lawyer Glenn Wright, who had been waiting for yet another opportunity to sue the province on its energy policies. The five-time failed candidate for the Greens and NDP was already involved with an action suing the government to stop building natural gas-fired power plants. This time he gathered up a number of applicants for an injunction, asking the Court of King’s Bench to stop the coal rejuvenation plan in its tracks.
The injunction was filed in July, just weeks after that sigh of relief. Again, coal worker’s lives, and the ability of the province to keep its lights on, hung in the balance.
The applicants behind the injunction were the Saskatchewan Environmental Society, of which Wright had previously been a board member; Citizens for Public Justice, whose self-described claim to fame was killing the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline; Sherry Olson, who hosts an environmental podcast and is a university student in her 50s, Matthew Wiens, a Manitoba activist farmer who neither lives in the province nor is a customer of SaskPower; and Kike Dueck, who was 12 years old at the time of filing. Dueck has appeared in national media several times in the previous years regarding pronouns and anxiety over the environment. CBC just named Dueck as a “Future 40 winner,” where Dueck’s efforts on climate change and this court case were highlighted.
“I’m currently involved in a court case against the provincial government because they’re not stopping using coal, even though federal, national and their own provincial plan says that they need to be. And I hope that will finish that. I really want to grow the movement of climate activism in Saskatchewan,” Dueck said in a video CBC posted on Jan. 19.
- 0112 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_20250112 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_2025
- 0111 2026 SK Oil Show booth promo 010111 2026 SK Oil Show booth promo 01
- 0085 Turnbull snow removal call office0085 Turnbull snow removal call office
- 0110 SaskEnergy SEI_Network_Members_Burn_Brighter0110 SaskEnergy SEI_Network_Members_Burn_Brighter
- 0105 SaskEnergy Commitment to Safety0105 SaskEnergy Commitment to Safety
- 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
- 0100 Turnbull Project Manager0100 Turnbull Project Manager
- 0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
- 0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD
- 0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
- 0092 Turnbull projects big and small0092 Turnbull projects big and small
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001
Arguments were heard by the court last fall, and on Jan. 12, Justice Smith of the Court of Kings Bench threw out the injunction application, noting such policies should be decided by governments, not the courts. You can read about that in depth here.
Dukart was there, in court, when the applications were made before the justice. There were three people in the courtroom from the two unions, UMWA and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He noted that the courtroom was full of environmental activists. Upon leaving the courtroom, the media present outside were interested in interview Dueck, but not so much for the coal workers.
“We went outside, and the media was all there. They wouldn’t even talk to us. They just wanted to talk to (Dueck),” he said.
Dukart said, “It was pretty evident the judge pretty much told them that he didn’t understand why they were sitting in front of him, wanting to get to the judge of the courts to make a ruling because SaskPower wasn’t breaking the law until December, 31 2029, and it was going to be pretty hard for the courts to rule on something where a law wasn’t being broken, right?”
The unions were not represented in the proceedings, as the provincial government fought, and won, against the injunction. But that may change in the future, as the unions examine their legal options, as their very livelihoods are on the line.
- 0112 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_20250112 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_2025
- 0111 2026 SK Oil Show booth promo 010111 2026 SK Oil Show booth promo 01
- 0085 Turnbull snow removal call office0085 Turnbull snow removal call office
- 0110 SaskEnergy SEI_Network_Members_Burn_Brighter0110 SaskEnergy SEI_Network_Members_Burn_Brighter
- 0105 SaskEnergy Commitment to Safety0105 SaskEnergy Commitment to Safety
- 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
- 0100 Turnbull Project Manager0100 Turnbull Project Manager
- 0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
- 0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD
- 0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
- 0092 Turnbull projects big and small0092 Turnbull projects big and small
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001
Dukart spoke of the prospect of countersuing the applicants, seeking damages for any jobs lost if they are successful in shutting down the coal rejuvenation.
“Every guy that gets laid off at the coal mine due to this issue, to me, is a job loss due to what they’re creating, right? But that’s my twist on it. But I don’t know where it’ll go,” he said.
These are the numbers of coal jobs in Saskatchewan, according to the Saskatchewan First Energy Security Strategy and Supply Plan, released on Oct. 20, 2025.
As for Justice Smith’s January ruling, which said such policy decisions should be handled by governments, not the courts, Dukart said, “I think that’s 100 per cent right. To me, the courts are for legal issues, and this isn’t a legal issue. It’s a policy issue.”
Dukart referred to SES’s talk about transitioning away from coal.
“It’s just another kick in the freaking … a blow to the guts, I should say, I guess is what my wording should be. But if you look at it, they keep talking about transitioning and everything else. And the federal government tried to transition. We tried that, and we tried it firsthand. The federal government designated a bunch of money to us coal workers for transition and we found out that there was no such thing as transition as none of that money or resources could be used for transition as in training for other jobs until we had never laid off at the mine.”
He noted, “If you look on their Facebook page, that’s all they’re talking about, transitioning away from coal. The federal government tried that, and it failed.”
As mentioned above, the exasperation in his voice was palpable.
He pointed to the recent cold snap which affected much of North America. Saskatchewan was exporting its maximum amount possible to the United States, and that power included coal-fired power. (The existing intertie originates at Boundary Dam Power Station.) He pointed out Saskatchewan also exported power, coal power, to Manitoba and Alberta as well during the cold snap. “We’re helping all these other regions out,” he said.
- 0112 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_20250112 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_2025
- 0111 2026 SK Oil Show booth promo 010111 2026 SK Oil Show booth promo 01
- 0085 Turnbull snow removal call office0085 Turnbull snow removal call office
- 0110 SaskEnergy SEI_Network_Members_Burn_Brighter0110 SaskEnergy SEI_Network_Members_Burn_Brighter
- 0105 SaskEnergy Commitment to Safety0105 SaskEnergy Commitment to Safety
- 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
- 0100 Turnbull Project Manager0100 Turnbull Project Manager
- 0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
- 0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD
- 0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
- 0092 Turnbull projects big and small0092 Turnbull projects big and small
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) – Western Canada issued the following statement in response to the injunction appeal:
The United Mine Workers of America is deeply concerned about the appeal brought forward by environmental groups seeking to block Saskatchewan’s plan to continue coal-fired power generation.
For our members, this issue is not abstract or political — it is personal. These are real jobs held by real people who support families, pay taxes, volunteer in their communities, and keep towns like Bienfait, Estevan, and Coronach alive.
Coal jobs have built our communities. They fund local schools, hospitals, small businesses, and municipal services. When these jobs disappear, entire communities suffer — not just workers, but seniors, youth, and local businesses who depend on a stable economy.
Our members take pride in producing reliable power for Saskatchewan. They work safely, professionally, and responsibly, and they have always been willing to be part of solutions that reduce emissions while protecting energy security. What we cannot accept is a plan that shuts down livelihoods without realistic alternatives or transition jobs in place.
We respect the right of groups to advocate for environmental goals, but decisions about Saskatchewan’s energy future must also respect workers and the communities that depend on this industry. Court challenges that threaten thousands of jobs create uncertainty and fear for families who have already given decades of service to this province.
The UMWA believes that energy policy must balance:
- environmental responsibility,
- reliable and affordable power, and
- the protection of good union jobs.
We call on governments and decision-makers to ensure that workers are not treated as collateral damage in this debate. Any transition must be fair, planned, and guarantee meaningful employment for those who have powered this province for generations.
Our members are not statistics. They are parents, grandparents, and neighbours. And they deserve a future that includes dignity, respect, and work.
- 0112 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_20250112 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_2025
- 0111 2026 SK Oil Show booth promo 010111 2026 SK Oil Show booth promo 01
- 0085 Turnbull snow removal call office0085 Turnbull snow removal call office
- 0110 SaskEnergy SEI_Network_Members_Burn_Brighter0110 SaskEnergy SEI_Network_Members_Burn_Brighter
- 0105 SaskEnergy Commitment to Safety0105 SaskEnergy Commitment to Safety
- 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
- 0100 Turnbull Project Manager0100 Turnbull Project Manager
- 0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
- 0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD
- 0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
- 0092 Turnbull projects big and small0092 Turnbull projects big and small
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001
BREAKING: Saskatchewan to rebuild its coal fleet, despite federal regulations calling for its demise