‘I’m not interested in getting the city involved in a legal battle with Protexxa for the sale of the land that has already been approved,’ said Ward 3 councillor Angela Caputo
Although city council will consider prohibiting data centres in Sault Ste. Marie on Monday, the resolution will not stop the proposed QuantumEdge facility that’s drawn the ire of residents in recent weeks.
Rather, the motion by city councillors Angela Caputo and Lisa Vezeau-Allen seeks the ban while the city develops a regulatory framework for similar data projects – without embroiling the city in a potential legal battle over the Protexxa and Missanabie Cree Business LP project already underway.
“I’m not interested in getting the city involved in a legal battle with Protexxa for the sale of the land that has already been approved,” Caputo told SooToday.
“This motion is not intended to go back on any council decisions that have already been made – this is to protect the city and council in the future, to be able to make better, more informed choices moving forward.”
Last December, council authorized the sale of 8.39 acres along Yates Avenue, which could bring a 100,000 to 160,000 square foot cybersecurity and data centre to the industrial laneway.
The project has come under fire in recent weeks as thousands signed an online petition raising environmental and transparency concerns and nearly a hundred residents tuned into a citizen-led public meeting last week to plan action at city hall.
Attendees spoke positively about Caputo and Vezeau-Allen’s motion while raising an array of concerns about the project, making plans to attend city hall for Monday’s meeting – but the QuantumEdge project will not stop as a result of the motion.
Beyond calling for the ban, the resolution requests the review and study of numerous electrical grid, environmental, and noise implications data centres could have on the community to further understand their impacts.
“The whole AI data centre thing is new. Our planning act and zoning bylaws don’t include regulations specifically for AI data centres,” Caputo said.
“I want to make sure that council and the community are armed with the best knowledge that we can have moving forward.”
As online chatter about the facility ramped up, some highlighted that Caputo herself moved the bylaw necessary to approve the Yates Avenue land sale – suggesting she flip-flopped positions on the project as public scrutiny intensified.
Caputo responded that she hoped to get the motion on last month’s council agenda – before opposition to the project grew – and that she simply moved the land sale motion in December as a matter of procedure.
“I can see how people might think that this is in response to that, but this motion actually has nothing to do with the Protexxa deal,” she said.
Both Caputo and councillor Sonny Spina were the pre-determined “courtesy” movers on all bylaws brought before council that day – all of which were passed together in a blanket motion.
“That whole agenda was moved by myself and by Councillor Spina, but not because it was of personal interest to either one of us or that we personally support anything that is brought forward,” she said.
Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting, Caputo said residents who want to share comments with city council can email [email protected] and ask for their statements to be forwarded to all of council.