1,000 signatures reached
To: Mayor Andrea Horwath and City Council
Protect Hamilton: No Steelport AI Data Centre Without Public Consultation
Slate Asset Management are trying to build an AI-data centre at Steelport along the Hamilton harbour — and they are trying to do it fast. Protect the Hamilton community and water: ensure there is public consultation and a robust environmental assessment.
Why is this important?
As the frenzy to build AI data centers sweeps Canada, Hamilton is next on the list.
Right now, Slate Asset Management is working to build an AI-data centre campus at Steelport along the Hamilton waterfront — and they are trying to do it fast. We know they are interested in building both enterprise and hyperscaler AI data centres. The public only knows of one partner, the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (DRAC) and beyond that, there is very little public information.
Sign now to demand that the Mayor and Hamilton City Council guarantee public consultation and a robust environmental assessment.
More information:
This project is already underway. In May, Slate submitted a land severance application to the city of Hamilton to "streamline and provide a faster path for development”. But very little has been shared with the public so far.
Hamilton is now being dragged into the frenzy of AI data centre construction fuelled by the shortsighted greed of tech billionaires. With data centres going up at an alarming rate, we are collectively learning about the devastating impact they have on communities and the environment. It has become clear that the rapid development of AI technology poses serious threats to our brains, health, planet, communities and our future.
This Steelport site is at the end of Gage Avenue and Industrial Drive — it is in a residential neighbourhood. In communities that already have a data center in their backyard, people are seeing their energy bills skyrocket. There are reports of brutal noise pollution and a spike in temperature as they create “heat islands,” warming the land around them. They are incredibly energy-intensive and tap into freshwater resources to cool the facility down.
Alarmingly, any data centre could potentially use water from Lake Ontario to keep the facility cool. This is the same harbourfront that has been left severely contaminated by decades of industrial activity. And while remediation is underway, the clean-up is not finished. Large-scale water intake and discharge infrastructure being built during or even right after an active environmental remediation process makes NO sense.
Right now, Slate Asset Management is working to build an AI-data centre campus at Steelport along the Hamilton waterfront — and they are trying to do it fast. We know they are interested in building both enterprise and hyperscaler AI data centres. The public only knows of one partner, the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (DRAC) and beyond that, there is very little public information.
Sign now to demand that the Mayor and Hamilton City Council guarantee public consultation and a robust environmental assessment.
More information:
This project is already underway. In May, Slate submitted a land severance application to the city of Hamilton to "streamline and provide a faster path for development”. But very little has been shared with the public so far.
Hamilton is now being dragged into the frenzy of AI data centre construction fuelled by the shortsighted greed of tech billionaires. With data centres going up at an alarming rate, we are collectively learning about the devastating impact they have on communities and the environment. It has become clear that the rapid development of AI technology poses serious threats to our brains, health, planet, communities and our future.
This Steelport site is at the end of Gage Avenue and Industrial Drive — it is in a residential neighbourhood. In communities that already have a data center in their backyard, people are seeing their energy bills skyrocket. There are reports of brutal noise pollution and a spike in temperature as they create “heat islands,” warming the land around them. They are incredibly energy-intensive and tap into freshwater resources to cool the facility down.
Alarmingly, any data centre could potentially use water from Lake Ontario to keep the facility cool. This is the same harbourfront that has been left severely contaminated by decades of industrial activity. And while remediation is underway, the clean-up is not finished. Large-scale water intake and discharge infrastructure being built during or even right after an active environmental remediation process makes NO sense.
It is possible to force transparency, demand public input, and even stop development altogether. As a mom here in Hamilton, I do NOT want to see our community and its environment sacrificed for the profits of the tech industry. To make sure the Hamilton community, land and water are protected, we have to speak up!
How it will be delivered
In person