“Everyone sees through this”: Ontario NDP on Science Centre closure update

TORONTO – MPP Jill Andrew (Toronto – St. Paul’s), NDP critic for Culture and Heritage, released the following statement after Ford gave an update on the abrupt Ontario Science Centre (OSC) closure:

“You only need to look at the letters written to save the Science Centre, with nearly 80,000 sent and climbing, to know that Ontarians care deeply about this important cultural institution.

With every new update, it seems like Ford is cherry-picking numbers to suit his own scheme to build a private mega spa. What about the kids who had summer camps or special semesters cancelled? What about the families of Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park, who rely on the centre for day trips and summer learning? Who’s looking out for them?

Everyone sees through this. The abrupt closure of the Science Centre could have been avoided –especially if Doug Ford and his politicians had just invested in it all along. An NDP government would make the necessary repairs to revive the Science Centre and keep it where it is”.

Background

• An analysis of Ford’s own initial report suggests that Ford’ numbers are being cherry-picked to suit his own purposes
• The PCs have been claiming both $478 million and $369 million as the cost to repair OSC
  • Some costs in these figures appear to have been double-counted
  • These numbers also include cosmetic ‘nice to have’ renovations, far beyond critical repairs needed to keep the building open.
• Actual cost could be as low as $24 million, for priority repairs
• It seems the PCs have maximized the theoretical costs of repair for the current OSC and minimized the cost the build a new one. Their own report didn’t even recommend closure.