Ontario’s Auditor General’s office has confirmed that the controversial Ontario Place redevelopment and relocation of the Ontario Science Center to the waterfront is under review. A spokeswoman for Acting Auditor General Nick Stavropoulos said the auditor general’s office is conducting an audit of Ontario Place and the Ontario Science Centre. As the audit process is currently ongoing, we are unable to make any further comments in this regard.
Premier Doug Ford’s government plans to build a mega spa with Austrian developer Therm where Ontario Place currently stands. Ever since the announcement was made in 2021, it has been widely criticized.
Various community groups and politicians say the public space will shrink if private spas and multi-storey parking garages are built on the site. Along with that, hundreds of trees in the area have to be cut down.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles welcomed the Auditor General’s initiative to audit the Ontario Place redevelopment. He said, people are upset with the lack of affordability, closure of emergency rooms, extra students in classrooms. Solving these problems is more important at the moment than making life easier. Ford’s spa-loving Conservative government is blowing $650 million of public money on private and luxury spas.
Little is known about the actual cost of the project. But Premier Doug Ford said last April that it would not cost taxpayers money to build it. Thermae will invest 500 million dollars in the construction of a 22,000 square meter spa.
Thermae will get that land on lease for 95 years. A spokesperson for Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma said in a statement that auditing is a critical part of government work. We will continue to work collaboratively with our partners to rebuild Ontario Place.
