REGINA, Sask. — With Bell Canada announcing plans to quadruple the size of an artificial intelligence data centre currently under construction in the RM of Sherwood, questions remain about how the expansion approval process will work.
Ray Orb, interim reeve of the RM of Sherwood, confirmed Bell requires approval of new land by the local council, which is currently designated as agricultural.
“They’ll have to apply to have the land use change. In this case, it looks like the designation would be light industrial, which would allow for the data centre expansion.”
The RM of Sherwood learned of Bell’s expansion plans last week, which would see the proposed data centre grow to 1,200 megawatts, with the company responsible for the additional power required. The centre would not use municipal water, and the expansion is expected to create permanent jobs.
Orb reassured that consultation will be done for a new land approval.
“We’d have to hold a hearing to hear people’s concerns and answer their questions. That would be the first step. If that was approved, the development permit would then have to be approved at another meeting. That process would involve consultation with the landowners’ association around the site, and we would also want to make sure George Gordon First Nation was consulted,” said Orb.
Part of the process would also require an environmental assessment by the province, along with Bell continuing to work with all stakeholders.
“Bell continues to engage with municipalities, residents and other local stakeholders as plans advance,” said the company in a statement. “We believe projects of this scale are most successful when they are developed in partnership with the communities they affect, and that will continue to guide our approach as plans evolve.”
The RM faced backlash over its process after entering into the first development agreement with Bell Canada at a meeting where many delegates were unable to attend, and there were issues with audio and video during the livestream.
Orb acknowledged that the RM “had some issues with the first round of consultations.” He and three other councillors were appointed by the government shortly before the decision, following the resignations of four former council members.
“There was a very short time frame, and probably not enough information was shared with the general public. I pledged that we would do a better job this time of making sure the public knows exactly what’s happening.”
This time around, Orb pointed out that the announcement comes well before any decision by the RM, with more details available and a new provincial guideline for data centres in place.
But does the early announcement put more pressure on council? Orb doesn’t believe it does.
“I don’t think so. I’ll be honest, I didn’t feel pressured, and I don’t think council felt pressured when the initial decision was made. We weighed the pros and cons, saw that the landowners’ concerns were being addressed, and knew that data centres were going to end up somewhere. We saw the benefits not only to the province, but to the rural municipality as well.”
Those benefits include a possible $1 million in taxes for the RM, with the newly proposed site increasing the amount to $4 million.
“This can really benefit areas and the province, including helping build new schools,” said Orb.
Orb also said there have been no issues with the current construction of the data centre in the RM, with Bell following all its requirements in the development agreement.
“They’ve been doing their due diligence. They’ve been monitoring the noise at the site where they’re building the data centre that was approved in April, and they’re also monitoring groundwater.”
Regarding the timeline for the new proposal, Bell Canada said in a statement that numerous factors will determine it.
“The additional capacity announced Monday would proceed in phases as customer commitments are secured. Timing will depend on customer demand, site selection, infrastructure planning, commercial agreements, permits, approvals and relevant environmental assessments.”
As it stands, the first data hall for the current data centre project is expected to enter service in the first half of 2027, said Bell.
