Cross-post: https://sh.itjust.works/post/64394346

It was clear the fix was in when Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath called a Special Council meeting, to be held the day before councillors would decide whether or not to pause AI data centre construction in the city.

The one-year moratorium, proposed to let the city update its rules for AI data centres, would have been the first of its kind in Canada.

Described as a “science-based” education session for Council, Horwath’s meeting was immediately called out as looking much more like a public lobbying pitch, with each presenter financially tied to the fate of data centre proposals in the city.

One presenter, Michael Schull, heads the the Digital Research Alliance of Canada. Schull, a registered lobbyist with the city, had been in town booking private chats with councillors in the lead-up to the meeting.

At the previous session of Council, reps from McMaster University — another data centre proponent and Special meeting presenter — were openly feeding misleading talking points via text message to the lone councillor who voted “no” in a 15-1 decision to advance the moratorium, which has overwhelming public support.