The debate over data centre development is becoming increasingly intense across Canada. Concerns surrounding energy consumption, water use, land, environmental impact and the pressure placed on community infrastructure are legitimate and deserve serious consideration.
But there is one group that is too often absent from that discussion: the workers responsible for building these projects.
Members of LiUNA are among those constructing Canada’s data centres, as well as the roads, utilities, water and wastewater systems, energy infrastructure and surrounding developments that make these investments possible and help communities function.
Yet when major projects enter the public debate, workers can quickly become caught in the middle. Their contribution is sometimes reduced to a political talking point or portrayed as incompatible with concerns about communities, the environment and responsible growth.
That characterization does not reflect reality.
LiUNA members do not simply show up at a construction site, collect a paycheque and leave. They are part of the communities where they work.
Their children attend local schools. Their families rely on local parks, hospitals and community centres. They support neighbourhood businesses, coach sports teams, pay municipal taxes and travel the same roads as their neighbours.
They also have a direct interest in protecting the environment because they live in the same environment. Energy security matters to them because reliable energy supports their homes, workplaces and the wider Canadian economy. Responsible development matters because they live alongside the infrastructure they build.
And good jobs matter because a strong union career can fundamentally change a family’s prospects, potentially for generations.
Despite this, workers are too often disregarded or dismissed as anti-development rhetoric becomes increasingly reflexive. The same dynamic can emerge around data centres, highways, nuclear energy, housing and the critical infrastructure communities depend upon.
Canada should not allow ideology to replace responsible planning.
The conversation needs to move away from political positioning and toward practical policy, measurable results and workable solutions.
Ontario has already taken an important step in that direction through its Data Centre Playbook, which establishes a more deliberate framework for addressing the rapid growth of the sector.
That is where the discussion should be focused.
Governments, industry and municipalities should be working together to answer the practical questions surrounding these projects: where they should be located, how they will connect to the electricity grid, how water and other resources will be managed, what infrastructure communities will need, how environmental standards will be maintained and how local workers will share in the benefits.
The objective should be to get development right, rather than turning the question of whether development should happen at all into a political battle.
There is an important distinction between properly scrutinizing a project and automatically opposing progress.
Effective public policy should require major investments to meet high standards while also providing enough certainty to attract capital, develop infrastructure and generate quality employment.
That is also why moratoriums are not the solution.
A moratorium does not answer legitimate concerns. Instead, it postpones the decisions that need to be made, placing investment, jobs and economic opportunities on hold rather than undertaking the more difficult task of establishing the policies and standards needed for responsible development.
Where concerns exist, they should be addressed. Where stronger safeguards are necessary, governments should put them in place. Where infrastructure requires expansion, it should be planned and built. And where project proponents must meet higher standards, those standards should be clearly established and enforced.
The process should also operate within a focused and practical timeline.
Responsible development should be about solving problems, not creating additional reasons for projects to remain stalled.
Canada should reject the idea that economic growth and environmental responsibility are mutually exclusive. The country should not have to choose between attracting investment and protecting communities, or between building the infrastructure of tomorrow and maintaining quality of life.
It is possible to achieve both.
Data centres are increasingly becoming critical infrastructure for a digital economy. Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, advanced manufacturing, health care, financial services and numerous other industries rely on secure and dependable digital infrastructure.
If Canada wants to remain globally competitive, attract investment and retain greater control over its economic and digital future, it cannot simply assume that the infrastructure it needs will be built elsewhere.
At the same time, that development must be responsible.
That requires rigorous planning, adequate energy and water infrastructure, practical environmental protections and meaningful engagement with local communities.
Municipalities must have the tools they need to manage growth. And when billions of dollars are invested in Canadian communities, Canadians should benefit from the employment and economic opportunities those investments create.
For LiUNA, that includes highly skilled and properly trained workers earning family-supporting wages while operating under some of the industry’s strongest health, safety and training standards.
There is also a broader issue at stake when these debates become polarized.
The men and women building these projects have a long-term interest in the communities they are helping to construct and strengthen. Their connection to those communities does not end when a project is completed.
That creates an opportunity to bring workers, communities, governments and industry together around a common vision for responsible growth — one that protects what matters while creating opportunities for future generations.
Difficult questions should absolutely be asked. But the discussion needs to move toward solutions rather than moratoriums and continued red tape.
Canada has the talent, resources and ambition required to build for the future. The priority should be creating the policies and partnerships that allow the country to move forward collectively.
The cost of lost opportunity is simply too high.
Canada needs investment, resilient infrastructure, energy security and sustainable careers that give working people the ability to build secure futures for their families.
LiUNA members understand perhaps better than most that the infrastructure built today will help determine the country their children inherit tomorrow.
That is precisely why they have such a strong interest in getting development right.
And getting it right means finding a responsible way forward.
Victoria Mancinelli is director of government, public and community relations with LiUNA. Send Industry Perspectives Op-Ed comments and column ideas to editor@dailycommercialnews.com.
