New energy minister will leave coal policy alone, at least for now

An order protecting the Rocky Mountains from coal mining is safe, at least for now.

Alberta's new energy minister Peter Guthrie says he has no plans to rescind the order although he did not say how long that would last.

Guthrie made the comment at an Edmonton news conference on funding for a hydrogen project.

An independent panel presented its report almost a year ago calling for these issues to be dealt with through land use planning and not the energy department.