The auditor general is raising new concerns about the decision to move the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place, suggesting the business case that justified the move was missing important context and costs.
A new value-for-money audit completed by the provincial watchdog as part of a series of annual reviews found the decision to move the science centre was based on “preliminary and incomplete costing information.”
It suggested the recent business case did not include all the potential costs of moving the science centre south and excluded information that had been raised in a previous study completed in 2016.
“Our audit noted a number of areas where the cost-benefit analysis lacked information,” the acting auditor general told reporters.
Later he added, “The Ministry of Infrastructure had a town hall where a number of concerns were raised with regards to the relocation. And the ministry identified that the environmental assessment for the redevelopment of Ontario Place will consider and address those concerns.”
He said when the assessment itself was reviewed, its authors had decided that relocating the Ontario Science Centre was out of “outside of the scope” of the study.
Attendance issues
The 2023 business case, published by the Ford government at the end of November, did not include concerns that attendance could suffer among some groups when it moves to Ontario Place, the auditor general said.
An environmental scan completed in 2016 found that, while overall attendance would improve at Ontario Place, school groups and suburban families would find it harder to access and would visit less.
The auditor general suggested the two categories are a “core market” for the science centre which could be negatively impacted by the Ontario Place move.
The new location, however, would be better for tourists, the government concluded.
The audit said the move did not properly consult with stakeholders, nor was the City of Toronto given detailed information
“The school boards, which account for 25 per cent of attendance at the Science Centre, were not contacted or discussed,” the auditor general said.
“There was zero discussion with the school boards with respect to their impact on it.”
It suggested the move has been given serious consideration by the Ford government for years.
In 2020, the government ordered work to begin on a strategy to move the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place, the report said.
“We will continue to consult more as we transition the science centre,” Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma said.
“And when it comes to Ontario Place redevelopment, we have consulted with close to 10,000 people. It is the most consulted on-site, I’m pretty sure, in Ontario’s history.
Funding issues
The auditor general report found the current site — which the Ford government has said is “falling apart” — has not been given the funding it needed.
The report said that requests for funding to fix projects “at risk of critical failure” had been “repeatedly denied” by the province.
Since 2017, a total of 42 projects “deemed critical and at risk of failure” have not been repaired at the Ontario Science Centre because of a lack of funding, the report said. Of those 42 projects, the report said seven had been put forward for money in at least three of the last five years — every time it was denied funding.
Some of those critical maintenance issues have increased costs and detracted from the experience, the report said. For example, the cost of shuttling visitors in 2022 and 2023 to accommodate a broken bridge cost $2.4 million.
Housing question
The audit also suggested the site of the current science centre has long been considered for housing projects.
In 2022, for example, the report found discussions between Infrastructure Ontario and the City of Toronto “touched on” the opportunity to build affordable housing on the site.
A proposal submitted in 2020 by the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries pointed out the move would “unlock” the current site for a transit-oriented community.
The site will be served by the Ontario Line, which will run south, and the east-west Eglinton Crosstown LRT when both open.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has said she wants to see science programming continue at the science centre, even after it is moved south to Ontario Place.
In response to the auditor general’s report, Infrastructure Ontario said “any future” transit-oriented community developer would be selected through an “open and competitive selection process.”