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Mississauga residents Chris Tulip, left, and Max Sebesta, right, attended the meeting to voice their support for a pause on data centres. Photo by: Emmerson Jull \/ Canada’s National Observer<\/p>\n
Over the course of five hours, councillors heard from more than 20 residents and business representatives on the motion.<\/p>\n
One of the first came from Alireza Harandi, a senior vice president at Prologis. He said the facility\u2019s peak demand energy draw would be 40 MW, and Prologis is in negotiations with an unnamed Canadian firm as a potential tenant for the site.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harandi also suggested that Prologis would refrain from filing any appeals with the Ontario Land Tribunal if council waited longer and took more steps before passing the interim control bylaw. Such a delay would push the final vote past the municipal elections in October, meaning an entirely new council could be voting on the bylaw.<\/p>\n
After the motion passed,\u00a0Canada\u2019s National Observer asked Prologis to confirm whether they would be appealing the bylaw at the Ontario Land Tribunal. In an email response,\u00a0a company spokesperson said, \u201cWe are reviewing Council\u2019s action and its implications for our application. We have not made a decision about an appeal and will consider next steps once Council completes its process.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whether an interim control bylaw is necessary to create guardrails for data centre developments \u2014 and if it would be defensible in court \u2014 sparked debate among councillors, city staff and speakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Staff said they would carry out a comprehensive study to determine the community impacts and potential benefits from data centres, even without an interim control bylaw.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re actually debating is \u2026 going to the dramatic level of doing an [interim control bylaw] which will immediately generate an appeal,\u201d said Mayor Carolyn Parrish, who abstained from voting on the motion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Parrish explained that the city wouldn\u2019t rush into building data centres before studies had been done, but acting too fast against the development could discourage investment. \u201cWe can\u2019t do something hastily, because the word will go out: \u2018Don\u2019t build in Mississauga,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Without the moratorium, Mississauga staff would still follow regular planning processes. Any data centre proposals would be reviewed. Approvals would be subject to the city\u2019s own criteria and future\u00a0guidelines from the province<\/a>. But data centres could still be built, and few of them would require public consultation or a vote from council.\u00a0<\/p>\n Councillors decided in a unanimous vote to move the moratorium forward. Their decision was met with a round of applause \u2014 and likely some relief for the residents who had been seated for hours, awaiting the vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n Staff are expected to prepare the bylaw and return to council for final approval on Sept. 16. There\u2019s a chance that the bylaw could be struck down at the last minute, as it was in Hamilton.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to make sure that doesn\u2019t happen here,\u201d said Max Sebesta, who lives in Mississauga. \u201cIf the federal government and the provincial government aren\u2019t doing anything, it\u2019s up to the municipal government \u2026 to start making change.\u201d<\/p>\n