#aidatacentres

With the public clamouring to have a say in data centre projects in their communities. The federal government thought it WOULD BE FINE if they didn’t ask for public input on its “responsible data centre principles.” So they got together with a bunch of mayors and a bunch of big tech companies this past summer to come up with principles meant to reassure the public. I can’t tell you how many times I heard AI and data centre proponents talking about the need to build public trust at the AI event in Montreal. Everyone there seemed perplexed why there was a large protest outside the conference and an even larger number of Canadians opposed to data centres in their communities. Maybe they should stop doing everything behind closed doors, but what do I know. Read my latest for The Energy Mix! https://www.theenergymix.com/no-public-input-on-ottawas-public-input-principles-for-data-centre-development/ #ableg #cdnpoli #AIdatacentres #democracy #Environment

Greenview Reeve says council doesn’t have time to “spoonfeed” information to residents. The Greenview media relations team did not acknowledge or reply to my questions. It seems like there may be a transparency problem. But Paul Palandjian, CEO of O’Leary Digital says his company is committed to Canada’s new data centre principles at the same time as they’re taking new legal action to block a court case brought by Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation. And then there’s the 59-page purchase agreement that was so heavily redacted that only five pages could be viewed. Read the latest on Wonder Valley, the 9 GW proposed data centre planned for northern Alberta, as Minister Nate Glubish heads to Grande Prairie to face the community in the final data centre town hall this evening. https://www.theenergymix.com/release-the-oleary-filesalbertan-demands-answers-over-redacted-purchase-agreement-as-data-centre-backlash-mounts/ #ableg #cdnpoli #environment #AIDataCentres #WonderValleyAlberta #democracy

Well, this is a blockbuster of a document leak. So, the goal is more revenue for government coffers and too bad that Albertans will have to empty their wallets. Huh. Great work by The Narwhal bringing this to light! https://thenarwhal.ca/alberta-ai-data-centre-takeover-cabinet-doc/ #ableg #cdnpoli #AIdatacentres

RE: https://mastodon.social/@thejuicemedia/117076495029808285 If you haven’t seen this short video on #AIDataCentres I suggest you do. A lot of facts tucked in with the to-the-point commentary, but it does contain swearing, for those who need to know first. #AIdataCenter

The Alberta NDP wants to hear where you stand on AI data centres. They are in St. Albert in Sturgeon County tonight (where Meta’s data centre is going) on a “listening tour” 6 p.m. at Red Willow Place, 7 Tache Street. I had questions about the tour…I’d like to say I received answers but I did not. And they backed out of an interview with me until after they finish their consultations. https://www.albertandpcaucus.ca/ai-data-centre-consultations #ableg #cdnpoli #AIDataCentres

Only about half of the data centre decision-makers surveyed said they were holding public forums or investing in local initiatives, while recent national polling shows that only 33% of developers are addressing grid reliability, and only 29% are responding to water consumption concerns. The report authors suggest “a disconnect between engagement efforts and community priorities.” You’d think data centre developers would pay attention to communities…but, no. I guess at least $64 billion, 18 state bills and 86 local moratoriums proposed across the U.S. isn’t enough to convince them? #ableg #cdnpoli #emissions #electricitygrid #AIdatacentres #AIDataCenters #WonderValleyAlberta #wondervalleyUtah #stratoshttps://open.substack.com/pub/jodymacpherson/p/community-pushback-blocks-64b-in

“Hot people hate AI” - Photos from the Anti-AI protest in Calgary at the end of June. https://open.substack.com/pub/jodymacpherson/p/protest-featured-pokemon-llms-explained #protest #streetphotography #photography #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #ableg #cdnpoli #artificialIntelligence

Read my recent story about the Olds data centre/power plant controversy, if you haven’t already, and get caught up on some new developments… For example, Synapse has hired a public affairs agency and registered lobbyists in Alberta. Who are they and what government departments are they targeting? Behind-the-scenes of this story: Find out who didn’t answer my questions and who’s on-the-hook for 680 local interveners’ legal costs. AUC explains the process they use to figure out how much Synapse will have to pay. Here’s my last story for The Energy Mix with details added! https://open.substack.com/pub/jodymacpherson/p/icymi-application-delayed-as-680?r=b0efu&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #ableg #cdnpoli #

There’s a vacuum of accurate information around AI data centres, and misinformation/disinformation is filling that void…to the detriment of local communities and governments. Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission said it was an existential threat to democracy. “What we’re seeing across all democracies, in Canada and across the world, is a high level of distrust in government, a high level of distrust in journalism and in public institutions.” But the federal government is lagging behind other countries in both creating regulations and funding solutions. Read my newest article for The Energy Mix. https://www.theenergymix.com/as-data-centres-multiply-government-silence-leaves-communities-exposed-to-misinformation/ #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #ableg #cdnpoli #democracy #journalism

RE: https://mstdn.ca/@JEmphatically/116931674609108584 Now with the YouTube link! Glubish: "So the data centre is the digital refinery, the fiber is the digital pipeline. This is essentially a way for Albertans to benefit from their natural resources at a time when the rest of Canada is making it very difficult to build pipelines to move the hydrocarbons themselves." (Carney's MOU's and Major Projects promises don't even register...) #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #ableg #cdnpoli #democracy #fossilFuels

The MD of Greenview council, which would be the location of Kevin O'Leary's Wonder Valley, just deferred second reading of a new Disclosure Bylaw. No timeline for the bylaw to come back to council was decided. The vote was 9 in favour of deferral and one opposed. The purpose of the bylaw is "to establish a formal and consistent process requiring Councillors to disclose certain personal, financial, and organizational interests that may reasonably be perceived to influence their decision making. A disclosure bylaw sets out what information must be declared, when disclosures must be submitted, how they are updated, and how they are maintained by the municipality. Its primary purpose is to support transparency, manage potential conflict of interest, and strengthen public confidence in local governance." https://pub-mdgreenview.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=6780 #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #transparency #WonderValleyAlberta #democracy #AIDataCentres /more

🚨🚨🚨URGENT: Data Centre Moratorium Loophole Alert 🚨🚨🚨 Multiple independent parties are warning of problems with the text of the Interim Control Bylaw drafted by City staff. https://pub-hamilton.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=500398 UPDATE the city has removed this file from the meeting agenda website WITHOUT EXPLANATION. One of our group saved it and I have uploaded it here: https://app-share.mailbox.org/appsuite/api/share/044fd7290e2ef34846688dbe2ef34fd5ae7650b1e03fb05a/1/8/NTQ/NTQvMzI We must act on this BEFORE NOON TOMORROW to save the moratorium. The moratorium’s text, as currently written, refers only to facilities used for the “development” of AI systems, and not AI deployment or inference, which are the most common uses for AI datacentres. We think this is a key oversight, and if adopted in its current form, would result in a loophole bad-faith developers could use to push their projects through. WE CAN STILL WIN, BUT WE MUST ACT IMMEDIATELY: Here’s what to do: Send an email to clerk@hamilton.ca and CC your councillor. Let them know you want the ICBL to cover all uses of AI data centres, including deployment and inference. Remind them that Council made a clear decision when it voted 15–1 to pass Councillor Nann’s motion on June 24, and that the current ICBL draft is not faithful to Council’s decision. Request that your email be included on the agenda for the Council meeting on July 15th. If you are able, please attend the meeting on July 15th at 9:30 am. Deadline to send emails: 12:00 noon TOMORROW, Tuesday July 14th. Thanks Hamilton. Please share this info with friends and family etc! #HamOnt #Steelport #AIDataCentres

I've been reading reports...several of them...about data centres (of course!). What I discovered is coming out in my next article for The Energy Mix tomorrow. In the meantime, check out this excellent article that I was reading while writing my compiler story. "AI is turning out to be more expensive for businesses than paying their workers. And that could be one of the many triggers that collapses the fragile economic edifice that the dreams of AI are propping up." https://prospect.org/2026/07/08/great-ai-repricing-isnt-going-well/ #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #cdnpoli #ableg #abpoli #Meta #Facebook

In Facebook-related news: Officials in Wyoming said a contractor for Mark Zuckerberg’s tech company, Meta, flushed bacteria-contaminated water into public sewers during construction of a controversial new AI datacenter. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/08/meta-datacenter-ai-wyoming-water #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #AIDataCentres

While everyone is focused on Meta’s AI data centre, Alberta is planning to allocate an additional 1.6 GW from the grid to data centres…temporarily. And the regulator admitted in a publicly available engagement session with industry that it’s going to raise everyone’s costs for electricity. Facebook needs 1GW of power as soon as possible…AESO is freeing up 1.6GW to data centres that have plans to build their own generation…Just sayin’. Electricity bills for everyone will likely go up, demand for natural gas will raise prices, and experts are warning about the impacts of large load data centres on the grid. Read more in my latest for The Energy Mix. https://www.theenergymix.com/temporary-grid-power-for-data-centres-will-raise-electricity-bills-alberta-regulator-admits/ #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli #Facebook #electricitygrid #AIdatacentres #AIDataCenters

Data centre developers want Alberta to fast-track like Utah did There's an AI data centre convention this week in Calgary and it's being promoted on LinkedIn. Would you be surprised to hear that the data centre lobby is arguing that Alberta is going too slow and that the province lost out to Utah because of a "state-level fast-track Alberta doesn't have"? The province already has a concierge service, has waved environmental impact assessments for every data centre so far, and has an "Automatic Yes" permitting policy. But it's not enough. They want the province to help AI data centre developers do what Kevin O'Leary did to Utah. And they're pressuring elected officials with statements like this: "The deal goes to whoever moves first." #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli #AILobby

He claimed it wasn’t a project, even though the province has a page for it on their website calling it a “major project.” He criticized the news release as premature, even though he posted proudly about it on his LinkedIn, calling it a “validation” of the government’s data centre strategy. And he said there were no financial incentives being offered, even though the government promised 0% data centre tax levied on projects that bring their own power (which is the majority) compared to the small number of data centres connecting to the grid who have to pay the government levy. The minister gave a performance like no other at a recent town hall in Olds. I obtained a recording of the meeting and reported on it in my recent article for The Mix! https://www.theenergymix.com/common-sense-to-keep-10b-data-centre-1-4-gw-gas-plant-far-from-town-alberta-minister-says/ #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #canpoli #AIdatacentres #environment #climate