The Ontario Land Tribunal has scheduled an October 21, 2026, Case Management Conference to decide who can participate in Slate Asset Management’s appeal of a denied land severance tied to a proposed AI data centre on Hamilton’s former Stelco Lands.

Numerous individuals have applied for Party status ahead of the hearing, which will also determine whether the OLT accepts written statements from the general public. The conference will be held by video conference on the GoTo Meeting platform.

The land severance application is administratively routine; however, it is anything but routine in practice, because the land severance is tied to a plan to construct a federally-funded AI research data centre.

In early Spring 2026, Slate Asset Management, the owners of the 286-hectare (707-acre) industrial site they have branded the Steelport project, applied for a land severance to carve out a 76-hectare (188-acre) parcel for what it described as a “hyperscale and enterprise data centre campus.”

The City of Hamilton received over 1,600 letters of opposition to the land severance.. Hundreds of people attended the June 4, 2026, Committee of Adjustment (CofA) severance hearing to express their opposition to the AI data centre, and AI in general, and the Committee heard from dozens of delegates opposed to the proposal.

A medium shot of a group of demonstrators holding various handmade placards. Notable signs read "HANDS OFF OUR DRINKING WATER," "NO AI DATA CENTERS IN HAMILTON," and "SAY NO TO AI DATA CENTRES | PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT." The individuals are wearing casual summer attire and sunglasses.
Protesters display signs outside Hamilton City Hall highlighting concerns over local water security and the environmental impact of artificial intelligence infrastructure on June 4, 2026. Credit: Joey Coleman

Following the delegations, the Committee of Adjustment unanimously denied the severance request. “It meets all the regulations for that property,” stated CofA Member Robert Reid about the application. “But at the same token [sic], because of the residents, the way they came out today and voiced their opinions, I make a motion to deny the severance.” Reid was the only CofA member to speak to the application.

Following the denial, Slate filed its appeal to the OLT. Numerous individuals have filed applications for Party and Participant status.

Those seeking Party status can learn more about the process on the OLT website. Members of the public wishing to submit written comments must complete the OLT’s joint Participant Status Request and Participant Statement Form and submit it by email to OLT.Registrar@ontario.ca

Further details regarding the appeal are not available because the Ontario Land Tribunal no longer provides public records in advance of hearings.

In December 2024, Ontario’s Auditor General strongly recommended the OLT release public records and recordings of hearings, urging the tribunal to “review and adopt best practices from other tribunals to enhance the transparency of the OLT hearings process, such as making evidence OLT examines easily accessible through its website, publishing notices of upcoming hearings and recording hearings.” [Recommendation 10]

The OLT has not adopted the Auditor General’s recommendations.

Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: September 2, 2026
Last updated: September 2, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman

Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version

Ontario Land Tribunal Info
Case Number: OLT-26-000693
Status (as of September 2, 2026): Case Management Conference scheduled for October 21, 2026

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