Save Ontario's Science Centre (Save OSC) is a grassroots community group dedicated to reopening, renewing, and reinvesting in the Ontario Science Centre (OSC) on Don Mills Road for all Ontarians to enjoy.
As a result of Save OSC’s efforts and initiatives, Ontarians are writing to Premier Ford in record numbers for the Ontario government to reverse its decision to close the Ontario Science Centre.
- Over 88,000 letters have been sent to Premier Ford.
- All 124 Ontario Electoral Districts have written to Premier Ford.
- 58% City of Toronto, 41% Rest of Ontario, 1% Outside of Ontario.
Save OSC believes the Ontario government, through Infrastructure Ontario (IO), purposely and willfully neglected the routine maintenance of the OSC for a period of many years to force a crisis.
From the independent Auditor General of Ontario’s value-for-money audit of December 6th, 2023:
“Since 2017, due to a lack of funding, 42 projects deemed critical and at risk of failure had not been repaired. Of these 42 projects, seven had been put forward in at least three of the past five years and were denied funding each time.”
Based upon the Auditor General report of December 6th, 2023, the Ontario government’s business case to relocate the OSC to a smaller site with 18% less exhibition space and fewer attractions appears to be unreliable.
“The 2023 cost/benefit analysis used to support the decision to relocate the Ontario Science Centre did not include all costs for both options assessed.”
“Ontario Science Centre Relocation Decision-Making Was Based on Incomplete Information and Excluded Input from Important Stakeholders.”
No professional engineering report commissioned by the Ontario government required or recommended the immediate closure of the OSC.
Not the Pinchin Building Condition Assessment in Spring 2022, not Rimkus' roof panel assessment in June 2024, not VB & S Structural Engineers peer review of the roof panel assessment in July 2024.
In fact, the reports that Infrastructure Ontario commissioned all tell the same story:
Whether it is the roof, or a boiler, or another component, the OSC is safe to reopen today. Repairs can be fully and safely addressed according to a 20-year schedule.
No independent, professional report has quoted a repair bill of “greater than $500 million.”
The Pinchin report included a repair and replacement spending estimate of $229 million over a 20-year period. 20 years.
Pinchin's estimate includes $32 million towards a full roof replacement, $11 million towards the pedestrian bridge, $33 million towards HVAC, and $25 million towards interior finishes. It also includes a generous 185% markup for unexpected costs and consultants' fees.
Infrastructure Ontario’s relocation business case, publicly released on November 29th, 2023, revealed that significant and multiple gross-up factors were applied by Infrastructure Ontario to the original cost estimates provided by independent, professional experts.
Save OSC believes the Ontario government intends to demolish the OSC on Don Mills Road. They intend to demolish a heritage building.
We believe that Infrastructure Ontario’s self-publicized estimate of “greater than $500 million” is meant to dampen public support and scare away offers of financial support.
The “Temporary OSC” RFP demonstrates the Ontario government is not committed to the Ontario Science Centre.
The OSC on Don Mills Road is 568,000 square feet in size, with 160,000 square feet of dedicated exhibition space.
By comparison, the RFP contemplates a very small, Temporary OSC of 50,000 to 100,000 total square feet - less than 1/10th of the size of the current OSC.
Given that independent, professional experts agree that closing the OSC on Don Mills Road was not required, an 18-month gap with no “Temporary OSC” until January 2026 is unnecessary. In fact, many people agree Building C in the existing OSC at the Don Mills Road location, is the best temporary option.
Further, the RFP for the “Temporary OSC” provides for a series of one-year lease extensions, strongly suggesting the Ontario Place relocation will not open until well into the 2030s.
The Ontario Science Centre; its institutional knowledge, its employees, its legacy will not survive this closure.
Successful Operating Model Alternatives are Available:
Within the City of Toronto itself, the AGO and ROM have operating models that have been demonstrated to be resilient compared to the OSC’s direct relationship with the Ontario government.
Canada’s second most visited science centre, the Montreal Science Centre, is operated by Canada Lands Company, the federal crown corporation that also runs Toronto’s CN Tower, and Parc Downsview Park.
In Vancouver, Science World is managed through a not-for-profit organization. It was reported by journalists just last month that they had successfully applied for tens of millions of dollars in provincial and federal funding to make capital repairs to Science World’s roof, HVAC, and Imax theatre.
We believe this is a critical moment in the OSC's history. Public pressure is required to Save OSC.
