REGINA — The NDP’s push on the issue of AI data centre projects is not going away any time soon following its latest open house on the issue in Moose Jaw.
Several NDP MLAs, along with leader Carla Beck, were at the Moose Jaw open house Tuesday, where they heard from local residents concerned about AI data centres, particularly a project that has been discussed for Moose Jaw in recent months.
There had been a proposal from Aztec AI Health Ltd. for a $485-million AI data centre project at the former Valley View Centre location in Moose Jaw, with a planned first-phase data centre capacity of up to 150 megawatts.
But in July, Minister of Justice and Moose Jaw North MLA Tim McLeod publicly poured cold water on the notion that this project would go ahead, with his office issuing a statement that “the Government of Saskatchewan is not giving serious consideration to supporting this project.” McLeod was also quoted in the media as confirming the project’s request for 150 MW of power had been denied.
Despite that, NDP MLAs have said they are still hearing concerns raised about that and other AI data centre projects. Speaking to SaskToday at the Moose Jaw meeting, Beck pointed to frustration being expressed by people over a lack of information or answers being provided.
“We have seen other governments in Canada and elsewhere, you know, put a pause on these hyperscale developments . . . pending the ability to have discussions with their constituents,” Beck said.
“We’ve seen Alberta indicate that they’re going to undertake a series of town halls to answer questions, to gather feedback around hyperscale data centres. You know, this is something the government here should be looking at. And at a base level right now, people have great questions. They’re frustrated by the lack of accountability and lack of answers that they’re getting. Let’s start there.”
Beck said decisions around AI data centres are “going to impact us for a very long time. They’re going to impact everything from power rates to data security. Let’s trust the people of this province. Let’s give them the answers to the questions that they’re asking.”
Beck also had a word of advice for Premier Scott Moe: “If he thinks that ducking from answering these questions, failing to provide answers to the people of Moose Jaw and the province, is going to make these concerns go away, it’s quite the opposite. I think the more that the government refuses to answer, refuses to provide basic information to people, I think the concern grows and grows. And we certainly have heard that in the room today.”
Concerns from Senger, Young about transparency
At the legislature Wednesday, the NDP’s Brittney Senger and Aleana Young spoke about the open house in Moose Jaw. Senger said the people who attended had “real concerns about this government’s lack of transparency.”
Senger also vented her further frustration about a consistent lack of answers from the government on the AI data centres issue during “question period, in budget estimates. We’ve written letters and done freedom of information requests.”
Both Senger and Young also took shots at McLeod and Moose Jaw Wakamow MLA Megan Patterson. Senger noted that while McLeod was claiming the Moose Jaw data centre project was never seriously under consideration, “Megan Patterson was at the ribbon-cutting for it,” said Senger.
As for McLeod’s statements that the Moose Jaw project was a no-go, Senger was of the view that “what we’ve heard from Tim McLeod is ‘not now.’ So that’s not an answer.”
“And frankly, no matter what, people deserve answers. They’ve got questions. Whether or not this goes through, people across Saskatchewan deserve transparency, and they deserve a response about the serious concerns they have around hyperscale data centres in Saskatchewan.”
Young added that statements that a project is “not going forward at this time” do “not engender a great deal of trust in the communities that have witnessed what’s happened in the RM of Sherwood and to the residents of Regina and area, with a project pushed through in the dead of night with rapid speed with no consultation.”
The NDP also voiced criticism Wednesday about what it considers a lack of transparency from the government on the Bell AI Data Centre project underway in the RM of Sherwood.
In particular, NDP members voiced concerns about the lack of a response on whether any environmental impact assessment was done before that project went ahead.
“We wrote to the environment minister nearly four months ago,” Senger said. “We didn’t get a response. Hyperscale data centres are new to Saskatchewan, and so an environmental impact assessment is extremely important. And we haven’t been getting any answers as to why this hasn’t been done. People want answers, and they deserve transparency from the government. So we’re going to continue to ask questions, and hopefully this government will finally respond.”
“This is standard practice. This isn’t unique to data centres. This isn’t unique to the RM of Sherwood,” said Young. “Anytime you have an industrial or economic development of this scale, you have an environmental assessment. It’s not just best practice. It’s what always happens. The lack of an environmental assessment, the Government of Saskatchewan choosing not to follow its own laws and regulatory processes, is what has gotten people’s hackles up, in addition to the unwillingness to provide any answers.”
Young added that she has heard “Tim McLeod and Megan Patterson in Moose Jaw complain about misinformation and disinformation being spread. Frankly, if that’s their concern, the fastest way to address that is to provide the people you serve with some basic flipping answers. This isn’t controversial.”
In a statement from the province, the government reiterated that the Moose Jaw AI data centre project would not be proceeding.
“The Government has already confirmed that the proposed AI data centre is not proceeding. There is no application before government, no approval being considered, and therefore no information to provide,” the government stated.
“Responding to NDP-generated and supported speculation about projects that do not exist is neither productive nor informative. The NDP repeatedly sets aside facts in favour of speculation and hypothetical scenarios, yet another reason why no one can take them seriously.”
– With files from Aaron Walker
