Data centres have become a hot-button issue in communities across Canada, and this week city councillors in Mississauga voted to put one of their developments on hold while the city studies its impact.
The vote was about buying time. Councillors voted in favour of creating a bylaw that would put data centre developments on hold for at least one year while city staff study their possible impact.
Much of the concern comes from how little is known. The councillor whose ward borders the construction site says he has no idea what the centre is for, because the builder behind it signed a non-disclosure agreement with the tenant, which has fed uncertainty about environmental impacts such as noise, water use and power demand.
The location has heightened those worries. The data centre that prompted the debate is right near a farmhouse, a church and the Lisgar GO station, and the councillor notes that there are homes 800 metres away even though residents need to live within 600 metres to be consulted.
Residents have made their feelings known. People protested at City Hall earlier this week, with one saying he works about a five-minute walk from the data centre, so it impacts his life.
The builder says the process has been open. A spokesperson for Prologis says the project is still in its early stages and that it will not identify a prospective customer, adding that it has actively engaged with the community, including a public town hall in June, and submitted studies addressing traffic, noise, infrastructure and the environment with the city.
The fight is far from settled. Councillors will officially vote on the proposed bylaw in September, and the issue has already bled into the city's mayoral race, with Mayor Carolyn Parrish saying she sympathizes with residents' fears after being called out by former mayor and now contender Bonnie Crombie for not voting on the data centre motion.