The Ontario Land Tribunal has ordered a contested hearing into Slate Asset Management’s appeal of the Steelport land severance, and granted full party status to a citizens’ group that had no right to appeal.

In early spring 2026, Slate Asset Management, which owns the 286-hectare (707-acre) former Stelco lands on Hamilton Harbour, applied for a land severance. The severance would carve out a 76-hectare (188-acre) parcel for what the application described as a “hyperscale and enterprise data centre campus.”

Since that time, Slate has stated the land severance is not related to a possible hyperscale data centre.

On June 4, the Committee of Adjustment (CofA) denied the severance. The notice of decision stated the application met all requirements for approval. The hearing drew the largest attendance and engagement in the CofA’s history, including over 1,200 letters of opposition. Slate appealed to the OLT.

At a case management conference on October 21, Vice-Chair Tee Fung Ng decided the appeal will not be handled as an administratively routine matter. The decision granted party status to Bea Bhardwaj, Nick Tsergas and Dan Shannon, who have incorporated the Canadian Civic Infrastructure Alliance (CCIA).

The City of Hamilton is not participating in the hearing because its professional planning staff recommended approval of the severance. Ng ruled the Tribunal must “ensure the voices of local community members” are heard, especially “concerned citizens who want to protect the health, social, mental, economic, and environmental well-being of residents of the City.”

“[The] CCIA advances the public interest, and will assist the Tribunal in achieving a fair, efficient, and comprehensive adjudication of the issues,” Ng wrote.

The next Case Management Conference, which will set the issues list and expert witnesses, is scheduled for Monday, January 18, 2027.

Fifty-four (54) individuals were granted participant status, and will be permitted to make written statements to the OLT.

The next case management conference, on Monday, January 18, 2027, will set the issues list and identify expert witnesses.

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

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Published: October 31, 2026
Last updated: October 31, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman

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