A torrential downpour that swept across Toronto this week, overwhelming municipal and provincial infrastructure, wasn’t enough to buckle the roof of the Ontario Science Centre, despite warnings about the impact of heavy rain.
The Ford government abruptly shut down visitor access to the popular tourist destination after an engineering report found several roof panels were at risk of failure under the right weather conditions requiring immediate replacement.
The government opted to search for a temporary home for the science centre’s programming rather than spending an estimated $500 million to repair the existing structure.
But, while the engineering report suggested that “significant snow or rain loading” events could overwhelm the aging roofing panels leading to an “increased risk of sudden collapse,” Ontario’s minister of infrastructure told Global News on Thursday that the roof had remained intact.
“Nothing happened, thank goodness, this time,” Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma told Global News ahead of a cabinet meeting. “But we have staff there monitoring everything.”
Asked whether the storm, which dumped 97 mm of rain in some parts of Toronto including 26 mm in 10 minutes, was a test of the science centre’s integrity, Surma said: “It was.”
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Critics question whether the fact the roof was not breached casts doubt over why the facility was closed in the first place.
“This was a record-breaking rainfall in Toronto, there was flooding everywhere,” said NDP MPP Chris Glover. “The science centre roof held up.”
Global News asked Surma, as well as Premier Doug Ford, whether the lack of structural damage is evidence that the science centre is safe for visitors.
“No, because we put mitigations in place in order to monitor the water levels and the removal of the water, but it is also the snow and the weight of the snow in the winter which is why it had to be decommissioned before Oct. 31st,” Surma said.
Premier Ford insisted on Thursday that “at any given time the roof could collapse” and claimed two engineering firms have determined the science centre is an “absolute mess.”
“I’m not chancing it, I’m not putting kids in there,” Ford said.
Critics claim, however, that the Ford government is exaggerating its assessment of the science centre to justify the construction of a new facility on the Ontario Place grounds.
“The engineering report says there’s one small section of the roof that needs to be repaired or replaced by the end of October,” Glover said. “The rest of it, you know, can be done over the next 20 years.”
Ontario Liberal MPP Mary Margaret McMahon had a more blunt demand.
“Open the bloody thing up, right here, right now,” McMahon said. “There’s no reason for it to be closed.”
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