The following are my (Joey Coleman) live posts as published on my BlueSky account during the June 24, 2026 Hamilton City Council meeting.
June 24, 2026 at 9:34 AM: Good morning, City Council is underway. Thirteen of 16 council members are present on time. Integrity Commissioner reports (including Ottawa BIA fraud), AI data centres, and more. Live update coverage begins now. #yhmcc
9:35 AM: Mayor Andrea Horwath begins this meeting by commemorating Peter Mercanti, who passed away on June 18 at age 77. Horwath speaks about his commitment to community, fundraising for causes, and family.
9:38 AM: Opening ceremonial activities today are: recognition of Olympian Sarah Nurse; the United Way 2025–2026 fundraising campaign cheque presentation; and accreditation of the City’s Economic Development Division as an Accredited Economic Development Organization.
9:42 AM: A standing ovation from the staff side of the council chamber for Olympian Sarah Nurse. The AI data centre protesters, seated on the “public” side of the public gallery, politely applaud.
9:43 AM: Council gathered for a group photo with Olympian Sarah Nurse.
9:44 AM: Those opposed to AI and AI data centres entered the chamber at approx. 9:40 a.m.
9:45 AM: Ward 14 Councillor Mike Spadafora has arrived late into the council chamber. Ward 2 Councillor Cameron Kroetsch has joined late via video conference. #yhmcc
10:00 AM: The celebration of the EcDev Division was a cover to bring all of the senior staff who worked for Norm Schleehahn into the council chamber to recognize him. This is Schleehahn’s final council meeting after 35 years with the City of Hamilton. He retires on June 30. #yhmcc
10:11 AM: Mayor Horwath presents Schleehahn with a framed certificate thanking him for his service. Ward 6 Councillor Tom Jackson says, “Speech, speech, speech.” Schleehahn takes the podium and thanks those who helped him during his career and Council. #yhmcc
10:12 AM: Now onto the business portion of the meeting.
10:16 AM: First: Integrity Commissioner David Boghosian’s report on six Code of Conduct complaints against Mayor Horwath. All six concern her conduct as landlord of 76 West Avenue North, a property occupied by her ex-common-law spouse, Ben Leonetti, amid an ongoing family court dispute. No wrongdoing found.
10:16 AM: Allegations included a conflict of interest when voting on the City’s renoviction bylaw in April 2024; improper influence over the chief building official; failure to comply with the bylaw itself; and preferential treatment on a subsequent property standards order. thepublicrecord.ca
10:16 AM: The IC “exonerates” [the IC’s words] Mayor Horwath on all allegations, but finds Horwath’s chief of staff, Uzma Qureshi, may have used City Housing Services contacts in a way that may have benefited the mayor’s private litigation. The IC has referred Qureshi to City Human Resources for investigation. #yhmcc
10:19 AM: Received by Council: an Integrity Commissioner report regarding Ottawa Street BIA chair Michael Carruth, alleged to have misappropriated roughly $16,156 in BIA funds between August 2025 and March 2026. He was removed at an emergency BIA meeting on March 22.
10:19 AM: The IC found reasonable grounds to believe theft or fraud occurred and suspended the inquiry as required by the Municipal Act. Referred to Hamilton Police, who have an active, ongoing investigation. Under the Municipal Act, the IC is limited to reprimand and removal recommendations.
10:20 AM: Council is now doing committee work. They did not complete their committee agendas last week due to poor time management. Now hearing the committee-level presentation on the 2021–2025 EcDev Action Plan. Most of the 77 actions and 13 stretch goals were completed.
10:27 AM: 😬 The staff member meant well when they stated this, but senior staff must not only be neutral during the municipal election, they must be seen to be neutral. Speaking about the coming election, a senior staffer stated, “Hopefully most of you will be back” for the next term of Council. #yhmcc
10:33 AM: EcDev Director Norm Schleehahn is asked an indirect question regarding Hamilton’s reputation for being “open for business.” Schleehahn states there has been some “damage” and “reputation damage” to the city’s ability to attract the IT and tech sector to Hamilton. #yhmcc
10:33 AM: As passed by Council, all data centres (even ones such as in office buildings) will be prohibited. “We’re going to lose out on some of those investments” in new industries and industrial uses. “The low-hanging fruit has been taken,” he says, adding it is harder to attract businesses in a competitive landscape.
10:35 AM: Clr. Brad Clark notes that “we are in a technical recession” and that developers are struggling to make financing work. Says “some are going bankrupt.” Two people in the data centre protest group begin to applaud; none of the others join in.
10:54 AM: Council has received the EcDev presentation. Council receives Kojo Damptey’s resignation from the Hamilton Public Library Board. Damptey voluntarily resigned as he is seeking election to City Council in Ward 14. #yhmcc
10:58 AM: Council now debating the receipt of a staff report regarding the work required to implement an interim control bylaw to prohibit data centres in Hamilton for up to two years. Ward 3 Clr. Nrinder Nann is first to speak. Those opposed to data centres snap their fingers in support of Nann. #yhmcc
10:58 AM: Right now this is only an information report — the substantive debate regarding the interim control bylaw will come later, in the Planning Committee report ratification. #yhmcc
10:58 AM: Ward 9 Clr. Brad Clark asks what role, if any, the municipality has regarding regulating the use of water from Hamilton Harbour. Hamilton’s acting chief planner states that taking water at greater than 50,000 litres per day is a provincial jurisdiction.
10:58 AM: Clark gets confirmation that the use of water for industrial cooling is provincial and federal jurisdiction. Only if water is discharged into the municipal wastewater system does the municipality have jurisdiction. Clark also gets confirmation that electrical use is provincial jurisdiction.
11:00 AM: Under the Planning Act, an ICB is the only tool that can pause a use already permitted under existing zoning. The pause is up to two years while a study is completed. Staff estimate the AI data centre study would cost roughly $200,000. Note that it will require staff to pause other work to complete it.
11:03 AM: Ward 1 Clr. Maureen Wilson asks a question regarding how the city processes planning applications in general. Gets confirmation that the city’s current practice is to request comments from various provincial and federal ministries, agencies, conservation authorities, utilities, and railways.
11:07 AM: Maureen Wilson asks if staff will ensure that, in creating the interim control bylaw, the city is not exposed to liability, and that in changing staff workplans, the city will not fail to meet mandated timelines in other matters.
11:09 AM: Council has completed the first of two debates regarding the interim control bylaw to prohibit data centres for up to two years. Council receives an information report from the city clerk outlining Council’s continued powers during the election period.
11:11 AM: Council now moves onto ratifying decisions of the Public Works Committee. Last Monday, all Public Works Committee votes were unanimous.
11:14 AM: Public Works Committee is ratified. Now onto the Planning Committee, which includes the data centre debate. All votes last Tuesday were unanimous.
11:21 AM: Nann is amending the Planning Committee report. Her key priority is to have something back to Council in September for a public meeting and vote. Mayor Horwath asks Council to first pass the amendment to the report before debating the issue as a whole. #yhmcc
11:28 AM: Now onto the issue. Clr. Clark is first to speak. He asks whether there are any applications for AI data centres at the present time. “There are no site plan applications,” state staff.
11:28 AM: Clark asks whether, if anyone has a plan to build an AI data centre, the interim control bylaw (ICB) would stop them from proceeding. Confirmed the ICB would. Clark says McMaster University is working on a data centre project for research scientists at Mac, which is currently forced to pay U.S. data centres for use.
11:28 AM: Clark says McMaster University needs its own data centre due to privacy requirements. Says the Mac project is a “$1-billion investment” with financing closing on June 30. “If we do this interim control bylaw, that would stop that project from proceeding.”
11:28 AM: Clark says he wants Council as a whole to “keep that in mind.” Says the city is acting outside its jurisdiction if it regulates electricity and water use. “If I vote in favour of this, I’m voting to kill that investment at McMaster.” Heckles from the public gallery against Clark.
11:28 AM: Clark says the reality is that McMaster needs access to compute for research, and that Council will be voting to stop McMaster from securing needed resources. Says money and researchers will go abroad. Adds McMaster will lose researchers to other nations if they cannot access computing.
11:28 AM: Hecklers from the public gallery say it would be “good” if Council stops McMaster, and that researchers would go elsewhere.
11:30 AM: Ward 15 Clr. Ted McMeekin says even the experts say there needs to be regulation of AI and guardrails put in place. Says AI is already causing cybersecurity concerns, that it is a “technological arms race,” and that governments must act. Lots of finger-snapping in support of his comments. #yhmcc
11:35 AM: Mayor Horwath asks the public gallery to “please allow councillors to have the debate.”
11:35 AM: Clr. Nann says economic development cannot trade off human health and cannot be allowed to cause generational harm. Says there should be “local decision-making” and respect for local councils. Says the motion is the first in Canada, and a deliberate pause to ensure “guardrails are in place.”
11:36 AM: Plenty of finger-snapping in the public gallery in support of Nann’s statements. She says rules must be defined “by the communities where these industries seek to make profit.” Ted McMeekin applauds Nann. #yhmcc
11:39 AM: Ward 13 Clr. Alex Wilson asks legal what tools are available to the municipality regarding water and electricity that are provincially regulated. The city solicitor says the city wouldn’t use the Municipal Act’s general powers for the ICB study, because the ICB study falls under the Planning Act. #yhmcc
11:41 AM: Alex Wilson: Would City Council still have the ability to approve data centres during the interim control bylaw period? City solicitor: “It is a freeze. It is an absolute freeze; there are no carve-outs.” #yhmcc
11:42 AM: Acting chief planner: The original interim control bylaw can contain exemptions — Council can exempt some properties when passing the ICB.
11:45 AM: Ward 12 Clr. Craig Cassar wants to ensure the ICB and AI data centre study focuses on Canadian regulatory and environmental frameworks, noting that many examples of negative impacts are in other nations, especially unregulated areas of the United States. Says the study needs to give good information.
11:45 AM: Ward 5 Clr. Matt Francis says Council should pass a motion instructing its wholly owned Hamilton Community Enterprises to stop all work with AI data centres. “That will stop it.”
11:45 AM: Ward 2 Clr. Cameron Kroetsch says neither Prime Minister Mark Carney nor Premier Doug Ford have consulted with Hamilton City Council or Hamiltonians regarding their AI and economic development plans. Hamilton needs to ensure there are local safeguards and rules for data centres. #yhmcc
11:48 AM: Mayor Horwath asks whether, when the report comes back, there will be information regarding environmental and community impacts. Confirmed the report will include this. #yhmcc
11:57 AM: Clr. Brad Clark notes SLATE could tomorrow make an application to build a lithium recycling plant. (See my next note.) Clark says Council has aspired to have tech and new clean industries on the Stelco Lands. Now Council is saying no to already-regulated uses. Notes impacts to McMaster STEM.
11:57 AM: Lithium recycling is an area I’ve researched in my national fellowship capacity. It costs billions to build a lithium recycling facility. There are companies considering Hamilton for a plant. Other cities are seeking the plant as well. actioncanada.ca
11:57 AM: When Brad Clark noted the negative impacts to McMaster University’s ability to conduct leading research in medicine, engineering, and science using advanced computing, many in the gallery applauded in favour of stopping the McMaster data centre project. #yhmcc
11:57 AM: Ward 13 Clr. Alex Wilson raises a point of order, beginning by saying Council members have a responsibility not to spread “incorrect and false information.” The public gallery loudly applauds, interrupting. Once Wilson continues, he notes Francis’s statement regarding HCE is not a power of Council.
11:57 AM: Clr. Alex Wilson’s point of order is upheld. Clr. Francis is asked to rephrase or withdraw. Francis disagrees with the request. Council cannot direct HCE on projects; the city solicitor confirms Francis’s statement was inaccurate. Francis will not withdraw the statement. Applause from the gallery. #yhmcc
12:00 PM: City solicitor: It is general corporate law that shareholders cannot direct — corporate boards direct. Mayor Horwath: The comments and discussion regarding HCE are ruled out of order. This ends the issue without forcing Francis to withdraw his comments. “I am not going to continue with this.”
12:04 PM: Ward 9 Clr. Clark moves an amendment to exempt McMaster University from the interim control bylaw. Loud boos from the public gallery. One person says Clark will lose the election. Nann strongly objects to the amendment. #yhmcc
12:05 PM: Nann notes that, in her opinion, McMaster University has failed to “consult with its own community” regarding its data centre plans.
12:10 PM: DEFEATED 2-14: Clark’s motion to exempt McMaster’s research data centre is defeated. #yhmcc #HamOnt
12:11 PM: Apologies for the footer error above.
12:13 PM: On the main motion, Council votes 15-1 to pause all data centres in Hamilton for up to two years, and approves drafting an interim control bylaw. #yhmcc
1:16 PM: Council completed the rest of the Planning Committee matters. Following this, they took lunch. After lunch, they quickly completed the General Issues Committee, the Audit Finance Administration Committee, and the Emergency and Community Services report.
1:37 PM: Council approves: a demolition permit for 286 Lewis Road; $3,975 to Festitalia from Ward 6 and Ward 14 discretionary funds; $30,631 to the Santa Claus Parade from Wards 6, 7, 8, and 14 discretionary funds; and $2,848 from Wards 3 and 6 to the Symfonia Choir of Hamilton. #yhmcc
1:38 PM: Council has now completed open business. It is now councillor announcements. We’ll see if they decide to enter closed session. #yhmcc
1:51 PM: Council is moving into closed session. #yhmcc
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Published: July 1, 2026
Last updated: July 1, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
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