brianpeiris

The author is Elsa Lam -- The editor of the Canadian Architect magazine, PhD, Fellow with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Honorary member of the Ontario Association of Architects. She knows her stuff!

It's only a 12 minute video, so I'd recommend watching it, but here's my (kinda long) summary if you prefer reading:

• The Ontario government abruptly shutdown the Ontario Science Centre on July 21st
• They claim that engineering reports about the centre's roof require the shutdown (actually the reports do not require a complete shutdown and only call for repairs [* see my additions below])
• The closing has been controversial. Many call it a calculated political move
• The situation is intertwined with the government's plans for Ontario Place
• The Ontario Place plans display symptoms of corruption, where the government seems to have given a portion of the land to Therme Spa without a good business justification, without public consultation, and without an environmental assessment. The government then passed a law to exempt itself from environmental assessments.
• Doug Ford has connections to execs at Therme, who have connections to Ford's previous companies and staff.
• The government plans to move Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place, but it seems this move is being used to justify an expensive parking lot attached to the new science centre, but which will actually serve Therme's contract.
• The Science Centre's roof issues have been known and ignored for years.
• The roof is made of a type of concrete that is also used in hundreds of buildings in Ontario, including schools -- there has been no call to shut those down.
• The engineering reports say that the roof can be repaired by closing off those areas alone.
• The original architects say the shutdown is unnecessary and have offered their services for free.
• Multiple private donors have offered millions in funds to repair the roof
• The government's estimates for repairs are extremely inflated, so moving the centre to Ontario Place is not actually cheaper.
• The government's estimates for building a new centre at Ontario Place are significantly underestimated.
• The government's business case for moving the centre focuses on the value of the land, not the educational and cultural value of the centre
• The land will be even more valuable when the transit lines open at that location (which were meant to serve the science center)
• The government's business case suggests building housing at that location.
• The video then switches to spectulation about the motivations:
  • The science centre is owned by the province, but the land is leased by the city with the requirement that it only be used for a science centre
  • The government is painting a picture aimed to justify the shutdown.
  • They declare the building dilapidated and unsafe, which lessens the public's perception of the centre
  • They are attempting to dump the cost of the centre onto the city, knowing the city cannot afford it
  • Without repairs, the government could just wait for the roof to be further compromised with snowfall, fulfilling the government's justification
  • The government could then renegotiate the lease and use the land for housing, perhaps given to contractors who were promised land in the government's failed Greenbelt initiative
  • The whole situation reeks of backroom deals and corruption
  • Although the Ontario Place plans may have some positive benefits in the end, it does not justify the process and motivation for abruptly and permanently shutting down the Ontario Science Centre. Doug Ford has learned from his failed Greenbelt plans and is apparently attempting to force his agenda once again.

* An extensive analysis by an expert architect at Canadian Architect Magazine has also verified that the shutdown is not a safety requirement, and that the government's claimed repair costs are vastly overblown (https://www.canadianarchitect.com/the-true-cost-of-repairing-the-ontario-science-centre-is-much-much-less-than-what-infrastructure-ontario-has-been-saying-and-the-proof-is-in-its-own-documents/)