An Alberta court has rejected a request from Kevin O’Leary’s firm, O’Leary Digital Limited, to dismiss a judicial review regarding 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 reject a judicial review application from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, arguing that the company, as a directly impacted party, was not served within the required timeframe. Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation asserts that it was not sufficiently consulted during the granting of the water license.
In a decision issued on Thursday, Justice Parminder K. Johal ruled that O’Leary Digital’s link to the license was speculative and allowed the judicial review application to proceed. The company also requested intervenor status or inclusion as a respondent in Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation’s judicial review, which Johal also dismissed.
In response, SLCN Chief Sheldon Sunshine expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that the judicial review provides an opportunity to uphold treaty rights and ensure accountability in consultation with the Crown. SLCN anticipates that the judicial review will move forward in December.
O’Leary Digital CEO Paul Palandjian conveyed disappointment with the court’s decision, emphasizing the company’s ongoing review of the ruling. Palandjian affirmed the company’s commitment to meaningful consultation, responsible project development, and regulatory compliance despite the disagreement with the continuation of the legal process.
Chief Sunshine reiterated SLCN’s call for increased consultation, urging transparency in sharing project designs and technical reports to assess the potential impacts of the data centers on a similar scale to other projects.