RM approves rezoning for expansion of Bell Canada’s AI data centre

Over a dozen protesters gathered outside the RM of Sherwood office Thursday morning as members of the RM's council prepared to meet. They ended up voting in favor of rezoning land to expand Bell Canada's AI data center near Regina. It was the final hurdle Bell faced to get the land rezoned and it would allow the facility to expand to needing 1.2 gigawatts of power. The RM limited the meeting to only 15 members of the public, citing fire regulations. Police and security personnel stood guard at the RM office doors. Dylan Keeler from George Gordon First Nation eventually made it inside to speak to the council with her young son. We're only on the land. We're only here. At the expense of our future generations so whatever we do now we need to think about how that's going to impact the people that's what the basis of what the treaties were made from. One man says concerns about water usage noise and environmental impacts are why he opposes the project altogether. Part of me doesn't even know what concerns to have because there's been no environmental impact assessment right there's so many unknowns with this that like I What concerns can't I have, you know? Theoretically, this data center could do any number of bad things that we don't know because there's been no environmental impact assessment. Genevieve Robinson says she hasn't given up pushing the council to take the potential impacts of the data center seriously. It affects all of us. Every single one. It's going to affect you financially. It's going to affect your taxes. It's going to affect the environment. It's going to and has already affected Indigenous people's rights. The RM did not immediately respond to CBC's request for comment. This was the final meeting of the council ahead of the RM's election next week. Alia Marco-Omenne, CBC News, Regina.