Chow says she's not giving up fight to keep Ontario Science Centre where it is
Mayor Olivia Chow insists she's not giving up a fight against shifting the Ontario Science Centre to a revamped Ontario Place but is urging Torontonians to imagine a new era of science programming at the site.
Chow says the provincial government following through with the move would be a worst-comes-to-worst scenario.
The mayor made the comments Saturday afternoon at a rally against the government plan at Riverdale Park. Dozens of demonstrators showed up, including politicians from the municipal, provincial, and federal level.
A business case prepared by Infrastructure Ontario in March 2023 estimates shifting the Science Centre to the lakefront from its home at Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue East could save $257 million over 50 years as opposed to refurbishing the current building.
In December, the then-acting Auditor General said the decision to relocate was made using incomplete costing and without proper consultation.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
As part of Toronto's new deal with the Doug Ford government, the two sides agreed to maintain some type of science programming at the Don Mills site, but no specifics have been determined.
The Science Centre sits in Liberal MPP Adil Shamji's riding, but on Saturday, insisted the campaign to keep it there isn't a hyper-local one. His comments were echoed by New Democrat MPP Jill Andrew.
"(The Science Centre) may exist in one community, but we all love it across the city and certainly across this province," the Toronto-St. Paul's representative said.
Demonstrators raised concerns about job losses associated with the move and difficulty with accessing the future Ontario Science Centre site.
"Every part of our city should have a hub where people can go to, to take their kids, to be entertained and to learn," said councillor Josh Matlow.
"Access for the traffic, the busses. I would be questioning that," said Patricia Milne with the Architecture Conservancy of Ontario. I would be questioning vehicular access for transports, bringing exhibits in and out."
Tai Viinikka worked at the Science Centre in the 1990s. He worries moving it will mean that Torontonians "miss real moments of wonder and joy and an amazing sort of revelations that come from science and technology."
While the footprint for the new Science Centre is half the square footage of the current one, the government has insisted there will be more room for exhibits with less wasted space.
On Saturday, a spokesperson for Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma defended the Science Centre move, saying the government is confident in its decision.
"The planned new Ontario Science Centre facility at Ontario Place, including its extension into the Cinesphere and pods, will have more exhibition space and will be more easily accessible to the public," the spokesperson writes in a statement.
The government has not confirmed a timeline for the move.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.