The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) has officially received an appeal of the June 4, 2026, Hamilton Committee of Adjustment (CofA) denial of a land severance request tied to Steelport, Slate Asset Management’s proposed federally-funded AI research data centre on the former Stelco lands at 386 Wilcox Street.

The OLT has assigned case number OLT-26-000693 to the file. The first hearing date has not yet been issued. Members of the public wishing to submit written comments to the OLT are required to complete the OLT’s joint Participant Status Request and Participant Statement Form, and to submit the request by email to OLT.Registrar@ontario.ca.

Slate Asset Management, the owners of the 286-hectare (706-acre) industrial site, applied for a land severance to carve out a 76-hectare (188-acre) parcel for the Steelport project, described as a “hyperscale and enterprise data centre campus.”

A high-angle, behind-the-shoulder perspective looks out from a podium towards a densely packed crowd filling an indoor public lobby. In the foreground, the back of a person wearing a dark teal zip-up jacket and a green baseball cap is visible with arms slightly outstretched as if addressing the assembly, while a security guard stands to the lower right. The diverse crowd features individuals of varying ages observing the speaker, with several people holding hand-painted protest signs with slogans including "Humanity Has No Future If AI Takes Control" and "No Data Centre". The municipal building interior is illuminated by bright overhead lights, revealing wood-panelled walls, framed portraits, and an upper mezzanine packed with additional observers in the background.
A large crowd of inside Hamilton City Hall on June 4, 2026 during a Committee of Adjustment public hearing regarding a plan for AI data centres on the former Stelco lands. Credit: Joey Coleman

The severance request sparked a massive counter-movement against data centres in Hamilton. By the time the application was heard, over 1,600 letters of opposition had been submitted to the CofA — the largest single amount ever received by the quasi-judicial body.

Hundreds of people showed up to the June 4 land severance hearing, the largest crowd for any City Hall meeting since amalgamation in 2002, to oppose the proposed data centre. Over the course of nearly six hours, dozens of people came to the podium calling on the CofA to deny the severance.

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.

The OLT is currently processing the appeal file. Following processing, the Tribunal will determine if the matter will go straight to a hearing or if a case management conference will be required to determine how participant statements will be managed.

Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: July 28, 2026
Last updated: July 28, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman

Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version

Ontario Land Tribunal Info
Case Number: OLT-26-000693
Status (as of July 28, 2026): Intake processing

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