Houston government refuses to answer to Nova Scotians on data centres

HALIFAX — Today, Official Opposition Leader Claudia Chender made the following statement:

“Yesterday, Nova Scotia House Speaker Danielle Barkhouse confirmed that she will not call back the House of Assembly for an emergency sitting despite public outcry from Nova Scotians about the hyperscale AI data centre that was announced last week. According to the letter we received, the government doesn’t believe recalling the house to address Nova Scotians’ concerns about data centres is in the ‘public interest.’

This is unacceptable. People are losing trust that this government is even listening, much less considering their interests. Nova Scotians have questions, and real and valid concerns about this project and the potential impacts on their power bills and water supply. The evidence from other jurisdictions shows that in places where data centres have been built, power bills spiked and water supplies were depleted.

Nova Scotians cannot trust an American AI company to act in their best interest without proper regulation and protection. This is a new industry whose operations and impact are not wholly covered by our existing legislation. The Houston government cannot take them at their word with no MOU, provincial regulations, or clearly defined processes and legal protections for Nova Scotians.

Nova Scotians care for the province they live in, and they care for the future of their families and loved ones. They deserve a government that will be honest with them, stand up for them, answer to them, and protect them with the tools they have available

Multiple NDP MLAs and members of our senior staff attended a technical briefing hosted by EverWind a day before the announcement. We had a respectful exchange and asked many questions. We have many more questions, as do people from every part of this province. We continue to believe that legal regulations are required and written contracts must be released before we move forward with this project.

You can’t create legal protections for the people you serve on social media – that work must be done in the Legislature. The Premier needs to explain to the people of this province why he is refusing to listen or have open, transparent debates about community benefit – and cost – in the People’s House.”

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