RM of Sherwood interim reeve optimistic of ‘common direction’ for appointed council

Interim Reeve Ray Orb discusses potential of the AI data centre announced for the R.M. of Sherwood.

Ray Orb, the interim reeve for the RM of Sherwood, is hoping to bring stability back to the municipality’s council after it lost quorum a month ago.

Orb was appointed by the provincial government to act as reeve less than two weeks ago in the wake of former reeve Susan Oakley-Paul’s resignation due to health reasons.

At the same time, three RM councillors also announced their resignations – leaving Sherwood without quorum in council chambers and unable to carry out its duties.

“I wasn’t intending to step in because I was retired and pretty happily retired, too,” Orb told CTV’s Your Morning Saskatchewan Wednesday. “But I was intrigued by the [AI data centre] project itself because of potential it would offer, not only to the area, but to the province and to the country as well. It’s an important project.”

• RM of Sherwood Reeve, 3 councillors resign

Orb is the former president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.

He retired in 2024 after spending more than 20 years as the leader of the key lobby group for the province’s rural communities.

Mitch Huber, Donna Strudwick and Judy Harwood were also appointed to the vacant council positions.

Huber previously served as reeve of the RM of Edenwold, Strudwick previously served as an administrator for the RM of Edenwold, while Harwood previously served as reeve of the RM of Corman Park.

Orb believes that experience will be the source of stability for the RM of Sherwood in the foreseeable future.

“Council is very pleased [and] they’re more relaxed than they were before,” he said. “And I think they can see we’re heading in the common direction.”

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The interim reeve also says RM residents have the same feeling.

“[They are] more comfortable,” Orb added. “The people that were appointed, it was a steep learning curve, there’s no doubt about that, but we are an experienced council.”

“So many of us were on council or administration [before] so we knew the lay of the land. And we knew there were some problems the RM of Sherwood had prior to this data center even being talked about.”

On Monday, the appointed council had their first RM meeting when they approved an agreement with Bell Canada (BCE) to build a data centre in the municipality.

On March 16, Bell Canada CEO Mirko Bibic initially announced plans to build a 300-megawatt AI data centre in the rural municipality, near Regina.

The “Sherwood Data Centre,” as it’s called in the planning documents, is described as a “multi-phase industrial campus” set to cover nearly 160 acres.

• Why here? What will it do? Sask. residents question need for AI data centre after RM approval

The planned facility is part of Bell Canada’s bid to become the nation’s leading provider of “sovereign” AI compute.

According to Bell, the centre would be the largest purpose-built data centre in Canada and will bring $12 billion in investment to the province – one of the largest single investments in Saskatchewan’s history.

The facility will be built in partnership with George Gordon First Nation, as George Gordon Developments owns land near the site of the future data centre.

Construction is scheduled to start in the spring and will come online in stages, beginning in the first half of 2027.

The data centre has been at the middle of recent controversy and opposition.

• Here are the provisions for the AI data centre agreement between Bell Canada and the RM of Sherwood

Orb recognized concerns but believes the project will be a positive, not just for the municipality, but for the surrounding area and the province.

“A lack of understanding can be the root of the problem,” he said. “A lot of people are concerned, and I wouldn’t say they’re not legitimate. Water usage and noise, things like that, but Bell has actually addressed those things. If people would read the kind of prospectus of what they’re trying to do, I think they’d be more, more relaxed.”

“But some people definitely are against AI itself because they think it’s going too far. People are afraid it’s losing their jobs. But if you do look at the other side of it, there’s potential for job gain and so that’s why we’re really excited about it.”

Orb, along with the three appointed interim council members, will serve in the positions until a regular RM election is held in November.

- With files from David Prisciak, Caitlin Brezinski and Sierra D’Souza Butts

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