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<\/p>\n\u201cI have a lot of concerns over the duty to consult,\u201d said Janna Pratt, a member of GGFN who lives off-reserve in Regina.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\u201cThe land is technically up to Chief and council to do whatever they want with, but a lot of people don\u2019t agree with having a data centre nearby,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Pratt said GGFN the purchased land across the road from where the data centre is being built was intended to be turned into reserve land for the use of the First Nation. She said the development across the road limit the use of the land.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s meant for everyone to grow and prosper from it, and with a lot of the social issues we face, especially the disconnection of culture, we could be using these lands as hubs for our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to a press release, the project will generate up to 800 temporary construction jobs, and 80 full-time jobs at the facility once operations begin in 2027. But Pratt believes the benefits are short-term.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s only temporary jobs. The intent of AI is to take human jobs \u2013 this centre will cause more jobs lost in Canada overall,\u201d she said. \u201cAs far as long term planning \u2013 how many people from our nation will work in the data centre? It\u2019s probably one or two out of a nation of thousands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pratt is also concerned with significant environmental and resource impacts. AI data centres require millions of gallons of water daily to cool millions of heat-generating processors, heavily stressing local supplies and overdrawn acquirers.<\/p>\n
AI data centres typically use a closed-loop recirculation system, rerouting the heated liquid to external dry coolers or chillers to release the heat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe water still needs to be dumped some place, and that\u2019s going to be toxic water. It\u2019ll also need to be filled now and then,\u201d said Pratt.<\/p>\n
She is also concerned about noise and air pollution, as industrial cooling fans, HVAC units, and generators pose respiratory risks and disrupts sleep from nearby residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere needs to be legislation, and there\u2019s none right now. We need to talk about sovereignty, we need to talk about environmental laws and protections. There needs to be safeguards for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has touted the AI data centre as a \u2018historic investment\u2019 and said the project marks a significant economic shift for the province.<\/p>\n
But Pratt said having her voice heard has been a struggle. At a community meeting for the RM of Sherwood, Pratt said her motion to speak was denied.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Scott Moe is saying that this is that big, then we need to have that big of a conversation about it,\u201d said Pratt.<\/p>\n
With the numerous community and environmental impacts, Pratt said that the AI data centre, set to neighbour GGFN, will sit in conflict with Indigenous worldviews.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge conflict. What about other nations that will have to put up with centres being built in their nations?\u201d said Pratt. \u201cAI is coming, and it\u2019s coming fast, and we as a people haven\u2019t had a chance to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
by NC Raine – Eagle Feather News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI have a lot of concerns over the duty to consult,\u201d said Janna Pratt, a member of GGFN…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":910950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[62,276,277,49,48,61],"class_list":["post-910949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=910949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/910950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=910949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=910949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=910949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}