Mayor Olivia Chao insists she won't give up her fight against turning the Ontario Science Center into a renewable Ontario venue but is urging Torontonians to imagine a new era of science programming at the site.
Zhao says if the provincial government pursued this move, it would be a worst-case scenario.
The mayor made the comments Saturday afternoon at a rally against the government's plan for Riverdale Park. Dozens of demonstrators appeared, including politicians from the municipal, regional and federal levels.
A business case prepared by Infrastructure Ontario in March 2023 estimates that moving the science center to the lakefront from its home at Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue East could save $257 million over 50 years rather than renovating the existing building.
In December, the then-Acting Auditor General said the transfer decision had been made using incomplete costs and without proper consultation.
As part of Toronto's new deal with the Doug Ford government, the two sides agreed to maintain some type of scientific program at the Don Mills site, but no details have been determined.
The science center is located in Liberal MP Adil Shamji's district, but he insisted on Saturday that the campaign to keep it there was not a hyper-local one. His comments were echoed by freshman Democratic Rep. Jill Andrew.
“(The Science Center) may be in one community, but we all love it across the city and certainly across this province,” Toronto-St. Paul's representative said.
Protesters have raised concerns about job losses associated with the move and difficulty accessing the site of the future Ontario Science Centre.
“Every part of our city should have a center where people can go to take their kids, entertain and learn,” Councilman Josh Matlow said.
“Traffic and bus access. I would question that,” said Patricia Milne of the Ontario Architectural Conservancy. “I would ask about access to transportation for vehicles and bringing exhibits in and out.”
Ty Vienica worked at the Science Center in the 1990s. He's concerned that moving this order will mean Torontonians “will miss out on real moments of wonder and joy and the amazing kind of discovery that comes from science and technology.”
While the new science center is half the size of the current centre, the center has insisted that there will be more space for exhibitions with less wasted space.
On Saturday, Infrastructure Minister Kenja Surma's spokesman defended the science centre's move, saying the government was confident in its decision.
“The new Ontario Science Center facility planned for Ontario Place, including its expansion into Cinesphere and the pods, will have more exhibition space and will be more accessible to the public,” the spokesperson wrote in a statement.
The government has not confirmed a timetable for this step.
