Ford says Ontario Science Centre a ‘mess from top to bottom,’ won’t fund repairs

Repairing nan Ontario Science Centre would costs astir half a cardinal dollars, according to Premier Doug Ford, who firmly rejected nan thought of spending nan rate required to reopen nan tourer attraction to nan public.

The Ford government, on pinch nan subject centre board, decided to unopen down nan Crown plus aft a third-party engineering patient concluded that aggregate roofing panels are successful “distressed, high-risk condition” and astatine consequence of nonaccomplishment nether nan weight of snowfall aliases dense rain.

The engineering patient Rinkus Consulting Group said afloat negating nan consequence would require replacing each of that type of tile sheet astatine a costs of betwixt $22 cardinal and $40 cardinal and that would return 2 aliases much years to complete pinch nan installation closed.

Ford, however, suggested nan structural issues presented to nan nationalist are a “fraction” of nan problems pinch nan 54-year-old building and nan authorities is group to coming a deeper look astatine nan deficiencies.

“It’s not arsenic elemental arsenic conscionable saying, ‘Go successful location and propulsion immoderate shingles down and we’re each done,'” Ford said during an unrelated news convention successful Etobicoke. “That spot is perfectly conscionable a full messiness from apical to bottom, beforehand to back.”

Ford said nan Rinkus engineering study was peer-reviewed to corroborate nan first findings and said it would costs a “minimum of $500 million.”

“It conscionable doesn’t make consciousness to put bully money into an old, decrepit building,” Ford said. “It would beryllium a foolish decision.”

The authorities has faced backlash from longtime subject centre patrons, organization advocates and governmental opponents who reason nan centre should beryllium repaired and kept unfastened for years to come.

Instead, Ford said he’s offered nan City of Toronto power complete nan Ontario Science Centre and told Mayor Olivia Chow she tin “do immoderate you want to do pinch it.”

“Anything they determine to do — extracurricular of building different subject centre — we’ll beryllium location to support them,” Ford said, suggesting nan metropolis could usage nan abstraction for a organization centre.