Infrastructure minister offers few details on business case for moving Ontario Science Centre

Ontario Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma declined to provide specific answers Wednesday about the government's business case for moving the Science Centre to Ontario Place as part of the latter's controversial redevelopment.

In an interview with CBC Radio's Metro Morning, Surma said the decision to build a new, and considerably smaller, Science Centre on the waterfront and demolish the existing facility rather than repair it was based on costs.

Asked by guest host Jill Dempsey about the potential price tag of rehabilitating the current Science Centre, Surma did not provide that figure.

"What was the cost to repair the building at the Ontario Science Centre?" Dempsey asked.

"The cost was higher. It was much more expensive," Surma said.

"What was the cost specifically?" Dempsey followed up.

"While the government is doing its due diligence, we are verifying all of the numbers included in the business case. Before we share that information with the public, we want to triple check all of the information," Surma said.

You can listen to the whole exchange for yourself here:

Premier Doug Ford announced on Tuesday the province's intention to relocate the Science Centre, along with more details about the latest redevelopment proposal for the wider Ontario Place grounds. The move was announced without any public consultations on the plan.

It has already drawn criticism from some community groups, residents and mayoral candidates who have questioned why the current Science Centre could not be upgraded and kept at its current location in North York.

Environmental charity Swim Drink Fish, which had previously supported Ontario Place's rehabilitation, issued a statement Tuesday saying it could no longer stand behind the government's plan.

"The Province of Ontario's plan for Ontario Place is simply too opaque and controversial for us to support," the statement read.

The group said it would "reconsider" its support if the province carries out an environmental assessment — something it has thus far declined to do — holds adequate public consultations and addresses the concerns of local residents.

Construction on the new facility is slated to begin in 2025, with its opening expected in 2028. The existing Science Centre will remain open to the public until then, the province says, and then it will be demolished.

First opened in 1969 and designed by renowned Toronto architect Raymond Moriyama, the building is considered by many to be one of the finest remaining examples of brutalist architecture in the city.

Surma added that she believes the province's plan for Ontario Place, which includes a 65,000-square-metre, seven-storey indoor private spa built and operated by Therme Canada, is necessary to revitalize the site.

"I believe that Ontario Place has been sitting there, no one has been going there," Surma said.

"Since becoming a minister, and even before that, I have been going to Ontario Place. I drive by it frequently, and it's not enjoyed. I think people drive by or walk by the site and think 'What a shame we left it to deteriorate,'" she told Dempsey.

Public consultations on the future of Ontario Place began on the weekend and are slated to continue for several months.