Tonight’s deferral decision is not expected to adversely affect the Protexxa and Missanabie Cree project approved by city council in December
A much-anticipated city council meeting tonight decided to put off a discussion on data centres until the next council meeting on Aug. 31.
Ward 3 Coun. Angela Caputo decided to withdraw a resolution she’d drafted for tonight’s meeting, calling for an interim bylaw prohibiting development of data centres in the city.
A moratorium on data centres is no longer on the table.
Instead, two councillors are expected to ask their colleagues to develop a municipal framework for using the city’s land-use planning policies for regulating artificial intelligence data centres.
Whatever council decides to do on Aug. 31, it’s not expected to adversely affect the Protexxa and Missanabie Cree Business LP project approved by city council in December.
That project will be just five megawatts, compared to the 100-megawatt data centres drawing criticism in other communities.
As SooToday’s Kenneth Armstrong reported tonight, about 80 people gathered outside the Ronald A. Irwin Civic Centre to protest on the data centre issue.
SooToday will have further coverage of tonight’s decision.