An Alberta court has rejected a request by Kevin O’Leary’s company, O’Leary Digital Limited, to dismiss a judicial review concerning consultation and water rights for the proposed Wonder Valley artificial intelligence data center project in northern Alberta. The $70 billion project is planned for the Municipal District of Greenview, where the municipality has been granted permission to extract six million cubic meters of water annually from the Smoky River for the project.
O’Leary Digital sought to dismiss a judicial review application by Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, claiming that as a directly impacted party, the company did not receive timely notification. Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation argues that it was not adequately consulted during the water license approval process.
In a ruling issued on Thursday, Justice Parminder K. Johal determined that O’Leary Digital’s association with the license was speculative and allowed the judicial review application to proceed. The company also requested intervenor status or to be added as a respondent in the judicial review initiated by Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, but Johal dismissed this request.
Chief Sheldon Sunshine of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that the judicial review presents an opportunity to uphold treaty rights and ensure accountability in the consultation process. The community anticipates that the judicial review will proceed in December.
In response to the court decision, O’Leary Digital CEO Paul Palandjian stated that the company is assessing the ruling. Palandjian expressed disappointment with the decision, emphasizing their commitment to engaging in meaningful consultation with Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and other communities. Chief Sunshine reiterated the community’s desire for additional consultation, requesting transparency regarding project designs and technical reports for the data center development.