Alberta government to hold first AI data centre town hall in central town of Lacombe
The first in a series of consultations comes as residents raise concerns about water use, electricity bills and regulation of proposed AI projects.
- On Wednesday, Alberta Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish begins a town hall tour in Lacombe to address public questions about AI data centre development and regulatory safeguards.
- Recent regulatory challenges, including the Alberta Utilities Commission's denial last week of a gas plant in Olds, have intensified resident concerns about water usage, pollution, and electricity impacts.
- Sturgeon County faces significant pushback over a $13-billion Meta data centre complex, while the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation challenged municipal water permits in court citing inadequate consultation regarding six billion litres of annual use.
- Critics, including Alberta NDP shadow minister Nathan Ip and University of Calgary researcher Sabrina Peri, argue town halls are "reactive" and come too late in the development process.
- The government plans additional sessions in Redwater and Grande Prairie, plus a virtual meeting on August 27 with Premier Danielle Smith, as the province balances economic growth with community environmental concerns.
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Red Deer Advocate
Lacombe ExpressTechnology minister gets an earful at Lacombe data centre town hall
Alberta Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish faced a hostile and sometimes jeering crowd at a Lacombe data centre town hall on Wednesday night. The first of several town halls planned by the provincial government drew a crowd of more than 500 to Lacombe Memorial Centre, where Glubish and Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Jennifer Johnson took the stage. In opening remarks, Glubish sought to dispel misconceptions about data centres, describing them a…
Alberta technology minister met with jeers at first town hall over AI data centres
Alberta's technology minister was jeered, badgered and booed late Wednesday by a room packed with hundreds of people over the province's plans for an artificial intelligence data centre. Nate Glubish was in the central town of Lacombe for the first in a series of town halls touting the windfall the ...
Alberta government set to kick off AI data centre town hall series
Alberta’s technology minister is set to hear from residents in the central region tonight on what they think of artificial intelligence data centres. Nate Glubish is scheduled to be in Lacombe for the first in a series of town halls. Glubish has spent years crafting an AI strategy and wooing investors to build enormous computing […]
Alberta government kicks off town hall tour on data centre development
The province is set to begin a tour of town halls across central and northern Alberta amid public pushback and questions about the effect the infrastructure will have on the environment and electricity grid.
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