Hundreds of protesters gathered on Saturday again near the Vancouver Art Gallery, expressing their opposition to proposed AI data centres in the province.
This was already the second protest of that kind within one month in downtown Vancouver, after a similar demonstration took place in late May.
Earlier that month, Vancouver-based telecom company Telus and the federal government announced their plan to build and operate three AI data centre facilities in the province, two near Vancouver and one near Kamloops.
Attendees shared their concerns over environmental impacts, water usage, and energy needs of artificial intelligence centres.
“Data centres bring a lot of pollution and shortages of power and water, and that isn’t really great,” said one protester.
“We are already going through water restrictions and data centres would only add to that,” said another person.
“And then there’s also the strain that it puts on just energy in general. We are already set to run out of power. A data centre would make that even worse. There’s also the air and noise pollution to be considered. It’s just overall not a good idea for the environment.”
Related:
BC Green leader Emily Lowan also attended the event, saying that data centres pose a risk to the environment and that AI needs to be regulated.
“Because of B.C.’s extreme continuous droughts, we are now a net importer of coal-fired electricity from the United States,” she added.
Another protester says that the public needs to be more involved in decisions around data centres.
“If we have to build a data centre, I feel like a better location should be picked and more consideration for how it would impact the cities and the people and the communities around it,” said the person.
“There’s got to be more public involvement with these kinds of heavy-interest approvals.”
Another protester just doesn’t like AI.
“I don’t believe that we have taken into account what the repercussions might be if it has happened at such a fast pace, mainly the effect it has on the environment, and I think also just the fact that it’s making people dumber,” that person said.
While protesters took to the streets, one person went online to express their opposition, creating a petition that has already gathered more than 15,000 signatures.
Grace Barrett, the initiator of the “STOP the Vancouver AI Data Centre from being built” petition, tells 1130 NewsRadio that she is concerned about the water usage of those facilities.
“It will affect our region as a whole; it’s not just a city-based issue, it’s something that the whole province will have to deal with,” she said.
“There’s been a lack of communication with British Columbians regarding changes to our water supply as we are going into water restrictions. It feels hypocritical to tell us that we can’t water our lawn and that we could face a fine while something that will require so many thousands of litres of water a week is going ahead without outward communication.”
Barrett hopes that the most recent protest will work as momentum for the petition so that more people will sign it.
Related:
“There are a lot of people who have posted videos on the petition page or who have left personalized comments. I see every single one of those numbers as a person in my province who cares,” she said.
B.C. Premier David Eby defended the plans, saying that public utility BC Hydro would give the province a “huge advantage” because of its low energy costs and clean output.
Telus says that the three proposed facilities would draw 150 megawatts of power by 2032.
That is equivalent to about 12 to 14 per cent of the output of the newly built Site C dam in northeast B.C.
Protests were also happening in Victoria, Kamloops, Calgary, Toronto, and Halifax.
– With files from Raynaldo Suarez.