Mihta Askiy Data Center Project – Project Number 90036

To: Impact Assessment Agency of Canada

Re: Mihta Askiy Data Center Project – Project Number 90036

I am writing as a member of the Fort Chipewyan community to express my serious concerns regarding the proposed Mihta Askiy Data Center and its 650MW natural gas power plant.

While this project is presented as an Indigenous partnership, as a resident downstream in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, I believe the environmental costs far outweigh the promised economic benefits for several reasons:

Downstream Water Security & Navigation: The Peace-Athabasca Delta is in crisis. Consistent declines in water levels already affect our ability to navigate to traditional hunting and fishing grounds. Data centers require massive amounts of water for cooling. Any further extraction from the Peace River watershed threatens the spring melt and the ice jams vital for recharging the Delta’s perched basins. I am specifically concerned that this project will further impede my Section 35 rights by making waterways unnavigable.

The "Stewardship" Contradiction: There is a deep conflict between the role of Indigenous people as "stewards of the land" and a massive fossil-fuel-burning facility. Natural gas plants contribute to the climate change drying out our wetlands. Without a 100% guarantee of carbon capture from the start of operations, this project is a step backward for our climate goals.

Economic Inequity: History shows that in these "partnerships," the majority of long-term wealth is extracted by outside firms, while the First Nation assumes the long-term environmental liability. A paycheck does not replace a healthy ecosystem.

Cumulative Impacts: This project cannot be looked at in isolation. The Agency must consider how this project, combined with existing dams and industrial activity, will further degrade the Delta and alter the downstream ice regime.

I request that the IAAC conduct a full, rigorous environmental assessment that specifically focuses on the downstream impacts on Fort Chipewyan and the Peace-Athabasca Delta.

Respectfully,