An Alberta court has rejected a request from O’Leary Digital Limited, owned by Kevin O’Leary, 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 dismiss a judicial review application from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, arguing that the company was not served within the required timeframe as a directly affected party. However, the court ruled in favor of the judicial review proceeding. Additionally, the company’s request for intervenor status in SLCN’s judicial review was also dismissed.
Chief Sheldon Sunshine of SLCN expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision, stating that the judicial review provides an opportunity to uphold treaty rights and ensure accountability in consultation with the Crown. The SLCN anticipates that the judicial review will proceed in December.
O’Leary Digital’s CEO, Paul Palandjian, stated that the company is evaluating the court’s decision and expressed disappointment with the ruling. Palandjian emphasized that O’Leary Digital has engaged in sincere consultation with SLCN and other communities from the project’s inception and remains dedicated to meaningful consultation, responsible project development, and regulatory compliance.
Chief Sunshine reiterated SLCN’s call for more consultation, requesting transparency from the province and O’Leary regarding the project’s designs and technical reports for assessment, in line with standards for projects of similar scale.