Official Opposition demands emergency Public Accounts meeting over controversial data centre

HALIFAX – Today, NDP MLA Lisa Lachance wrote to the chair and the clerk of the Public Accounts Committee this morning asking that members vote to hold an emergency meeting on the establishment of data centres in Nova Scotia. Lachance has requested that the Deputy Minister of Energy, the Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and representatives from EverWind be witnesses at the committee.

“We have been calling for this government to come back to the legislature and we’re going to use every tool we have to get answers for Nova Scotians,” said Lachance. “This committee has a duty to review financial matters respecting Nova Scotians — and right now, we’re just not seeing the case for this project. The Premier won’t answer questions, his government won’t put protections in place, and Nova Scotians want to know what’s going on.

“We need an urgent Public Accounts Committee meeting so the public can better understand how this data centre will affect the province’s finances, and hold the government accountable to ensure the necessary protections are in place.”

The NS NDP’s call comes after thousands of Nova Scotians have signed petitions and spoken up about their opposition to the data centre in Point Tupper. So far, Premier Tim Houston has refused to answer Nova Scotians’ questions, put regulations in place to protect people from power bill increases, or explain why he isn’t returning to the Legislature despite tremendous public outcry.

“Nova Scotians are feeling misled and ignored by this government. They have serious concerns about this data centre, and they deserve answers — but the Premier is nowhere to be found. We hope the government members of the committee will start listening and let Nova Scotians hear from those involved,” said Lachance. “We know in places where data centres have been built, people have seen their power bills skyrocket. Since Tim Houston became Premier, families are already spending hundreds of dollars more each year on power, and this centre risks pushing them even higher. People are worried and we don’t blame them. The least Tim Houston can do is get back into the legislature, and have these important conversations at committee so Nova Scotians have answers and regulations in place to protect them.”

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