ACO Media Release - Ontario Science Centre and Ontario Place

AUTHOR: ACO

DATE: June 25, 2024

Premier Doug Ford Attacks Twentieth Century Architecture

NEWS DESCRIPTION:

Architectural Conservancy Ontario (ACO) strongly condemns the Provincial Government's accelerated attack on two provincially owned, globally significant, Modern Heritage sites in Toronto which ACO and citizens across Ontario have long fought to protect and revitalize.

On Friday June 21 the Ontario Science Center was permanently closed without notice or public consultation. As a pretext the government misrepresented the findings of a recent engineer’s report. While the engineering report points out issues within the 55-year-old structure -- issues it said needed to be addressed before snow falls -- it did not recommend a shutdown.

On Saturday morning, demolition work began at Ontario Place, another provincially owned heritage site of international significance. The demolition is being done under the authority of the “Rebuilding Ontario Place Act” (ROPA)—a piece of legislation currently being challenged in the courts by the Ontario Place Protectors.

"It is improper to begin demolition work while the supporting legislation is being contested. It is no surprise the work was started on a Saturday— using that old playbook of doing as much damage as possible before injunctions can be filed," said Bill Greaves, ACO member and long-time Ontario Place advocate.

"The government enacted ROPA to circumvent the stringent protections the Ontario Heritage Act had afforded Ontario Place as a site of provincial significance, the highest possible level of protection," said Greaves.

"With these actions, the government has moved from an irresponsible lack of stewardship to active destruction—and has done so under patently false pretexts," said ACO Provincial Board Chair Deb Crawford.

ACO condemns this behaviour in the strongest possible terms. Contact your local MPP to express your outrage of the government's lack of stewardship to maintain these iconic places in Ontario for future generations to enjoy.

Information:

Deb Crawford, president@acontario.ca / 705 791 2051

Bill Greaves, wsgreaves@gmail.com / 416 835 5982