O’Leary loses bid to block First Nation’s Alberta data centre water challenge
An Alberta judge has rejected Kevin O’Leary’s attempt to stop Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation from challenging a water permit tied to his planned $70B AI data centre.
An Alberta judge has rejected an attempt by investor Kevin O’Leary’s company to stop a Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation legal challenge over a water licence connected to a planned $70-billion artificial intelligence data centre in northwest Alberta.
Court of King’s Bench Justice P. K. Johal dismissed an application from O’Leary Digital Limited in its entirety on Thursday, allowing the First Nation’s judicial review to move forward.
Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation is challenging a water licence issued to the Municipal District of Greenview that permits the diversion of six million cubic metres of water from the Smoky River. The Nation has Treaty 8 reserve lands near the river and argues Alberta failed to adequately consult with it before the licence was issued.
The judicial review is also challenging the provincial decision that consultation with the Nation was not required.
O’Leary Digital had argued it should have been served with the judicial review within the required timeframe because it claims a contractual interest in the water licence. The company also sought permission to participate in the case as an intervenor or be added as a respondent.
Justice Johal rejected those requests.
The judge’s decision noted that O’Leary Digital’s connection to the water licence is based on an agreement with Greenview involving the planned data centre and industrial development. The licence itself, however, was issued to Greenview.
The decision means the underlying judicial review can proceed, with the case expected to be heard in December.
Protests planned as Alberta holds data centre town halls
The court decision comes as opposition to large-scale AI data centres continues to grow in Alberta.
Ben Baril, a 20-year-old Sturgeon County resident and business student at the University of Alberta, helped organize a protest against Meta’s planned data centre in Morinville on Aug. 2. The demonstration drew hundreds of people, according to reports from the event.
Baril and other protesters are now planning to attend an Aug. 20 provincial town hall in Sturgeon County, where they intend to press the government over its approach to data-centre development.
Baril has argued that public input should have been sought before projects received approvals.
The Sturgeon County meeting is one of four town halls the province is holding on AI data centres. The first is scheduled for Aug. 19 in Ponoka, with Technology Minister Nate Glubish hosting the sessions.
The government has said the meetings are intended to answer Albertans’ questions about the facilities, including their potential effects on power, water and local communities.
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