Secret document shows Conservatives cooked up business case to justify their Science Centre move: NDP

QUEEN’S PARK – Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition NDP, revealed a document obtained through freedom of information requests shows the government had been planning to relocate the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place for nearly two years before informing the public.

“This is further evidence that Ford had decided to move the Ontario Science Centre long before any ‘business case’ had been prepared,” Stiles said. “This decision was never based on evidence, but on Ford’s need to justify spending $650 million of public money on a private luxury spa at Ontario Place.”

The document, obtained from the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, discusses the 'Ontario Science Centre Modernization' and 'relocation plans.' The document is dated August 27, 2021—nearly two years before the Conservatives announced their plans to the public.

They also predate the government’s sketchy March 2023 ‘business case’ that they claim justifies the move.

“It’s clear the government prepared this business case with a predetermined outcome,” said Stiles. “They’d already made their decision and needed a business case to justify it – despite the public’s concerns.”

“Ontario deserves a government that leads by evidence, facts, and analysis. Not one that tries to pull one over on the public to justify their sketchy backroom deal for a luxury spa.”

Stiles will question the Premier about these new documents during Question Period this morning. An Auditor General report on the Science Centre is expected tomorrow.

QUICK FACTS

• Last week, the Conservatives released their ‘business case’ that shows the one-time cost of relocating the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place would be twice the cost of completing the necessary repairs at the current site.
• The business case assumed that the new, half-sized Science Centre would be built on top of a new, publicly funded parking structure located next to the proposed Therme spa. The costs of the parking structure (which has been estimated at over $500 million) were excluded from the business case.
• The Conservatives’ ‘business case’ has been called “all spin,” “bunk,” “torqued and twisted to serve the government’s desired result,” and has been identified as having “clear problems with the province’s math.”