AI Data Centres: A Hamilton Discussion
Recently, Hamilton City Council struggled with a community-based discussion related to the emergence of two requests to support the location of AI data centres in our city. The requests came from McMaster University (via McMaster Innovation Park) and from the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.
A motion was made to put an Interim Control Bylaw in place that would declare a moratorium on all AI data centres in our city for a year. The hope was to take time to establish and integrate these kind of requests into the city's planning protocol. This proposal generated not only a lot of interest but also significant opposition to AI centres. The opposition was based primarily on a series of environmental observations and concerns drawn from largely unregulated mega projects, specifically in the United States.
In Hamilton, public meetings were generated. The Planning Committee listened to numerous delegations and initially supported the proposal to consider an interim control bylaw. On June 24, Council directed staff to undertake a review, and study data centres. At the same time, Council wisely asked for a legal review of any jurisdictional concerns and any challenges that the interim moratorium may invoke. There were several questions that needed to be answered and addressed before the July 15 Council meeting.
Fast forward to July 15, Council was required to go 'in camera' to receive confidential legal and planning advice. Council received that advice for over three hours. Once we returned to open public session, the City Solicitor informed those present that under Section 62.O.2 of the Provincial Planning Act, academic institutions - in this case McMaster University - are exempt from any control bylaw the City of Hamilton might wish to put in place, provided the planned site met existing zoning restrictions and was compliant with the McMaster University Act (an academic purpose).
Earlier, Planning staff had advised that not all data centres should be treated the same, noting that large hyperscale centres were very different from smaller data centres focused on research, health, and innovative manufacturing. Some jurisdictional challenges also arose with respect to the planning process.
Here’s my personal perspective, at a broad level, I continue to have concerns about the speed at which AI technology is being developed and the potential environmental and social impacts hyperscale data centres may generate. I have passionately spoken to those concerns many times. Pope Leo XIV has correctly described AI as a technological ‘harms race'. He has called on humanity to recognize there is a governance gap in need of guardrails. I agree with him.
Today, major powers, notably the USA and China are rushing to dominate the development of Artificial Intelligence. I don't believe we're going to be able to stop the AI train, but we all have a vested interest in ensuring it doesn't leave the track. Canada needs to play a role, a cautious role to be sure, to buttress our national sovereignty, lest the big power brokers abuse the technology and directly violate our values and hurt our economy. Tariffs may not be the last step in what clearly appears to be a deteriorating international relationship.
Not all AI data centres are the same. The two projects that appear to be emerging in Hamilton are a case in point. The first comes from my alma mater, McMaster, who through their Innovation Park, want to expand their academic research and collaborative footprint in medical research and innovation. This is good for our community, our province, and our country.
The other comes from the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (DRAC), a registered charity group with a primary interest in fostering academic research, in collaboration with educational institutions. DRAC wants to reclaim and make use of the 840-acre brownfield Steelport lands.
The economic uplift of these two projects, properly managed, is undeniable. Our federal government has indicated that the DRAC project would be eligible for $890 million in support. The McMaster project has already attracted private sector support of more than $1 billion.
In these troubled economic times, we need to seize and manage these two opportunities in the best interest of our community. Safely embracing this kind of industrial/commercial growth will have a dramatic impact on burgeoning residential property taxes, which continue to lag at approximately 85-15 ration of residential to commercial taxes. I want to see that number balanced and lean for more to the commercial side of the ledger.
I've always believed in making decisions based on evidence, supported by principle, and designed to achieve the greatest good. It is from this high standard that I supported Council’s decision to NOT proceed with an interim control bylaw. In my view, our previous decision would surely be challenged either in court or before the Ontario Land Tribunal, would have further prevented our city from capitalizing on massive new investment, limited Hamilton’s world class academic institutions from further developing health orientated research and innovation, while also limiting our city’s growth within an emerging economy.
McMaster University and its leaders deserve acknowledgment. They stepped forward to explain what access to advanced computing infrastructure means for research, health innovation, and commercialization. Also, they clearly articulated how this project will further Hamilton's ability to attract and retain exceptional talent.
None of these truths diminish the legitimate questions surrounding energy, water, land use, environmental impacts, or community impacts of AI data centre in general. These issues will continue to require rigorous and thoughtful study, appropriate safeguards and oversight. Thoughtful regulation is different from a blanket prohibition. In my opinion, a complete ban would not be in the best interests of those I'm privileged to represent.
Hon. Ted McMeekin
Councillor, Ward 15
