We cannot afford to lose public educational spaces to developers, especially those who teach science.
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00:00:00I remember complaining that the weekend didn't seem to pass.
00:00:05It was quite a good deal.
00:00:07You could go to the Ontario Science Centre on Saturdays and sometimes even Sundays.
00:00:11It felt like coming home.
00:00:14A welcoming place where all kids belong.
00:00:17I knew all of the right places to go.
00:00:20The bridge with rocks and pipes.
00:00:23The planetarium with all the astronomy shows.
00:00:26As well as the tropical garden with all of the butterflies.
00:00:30I loved being the friendly Ontario Science Centre staff with their white coats and puzzles in their head,
00:00:36always ready to answer questions by kids.
00:00:40It was the only place I knew where asking questions was celebrated as much as knowing the right answers.
00:00:48These, they're Ontario Science Centre memories in everybody's life.
00:00:53For me, it's the place where I met my first astronaut.
00:00:57The place where I met a Nobel Prize winner.
00:01:00The place where I realized it's okay to be scientists, engineers and astronauts.
00:01:07It's where I learned it's okay for women and everyone to be passionate about science.
00:01:17I started creating my own science projects and presenting them in science fairs.
00:01:22Each year, my projects grew more and more complex as I learned new skills.
00:01:27I ended up winning the top award at the Canada Widescience Fair 2022 and 2023.
00:01:36My project on detecting and deflecting asteroids.
00:01:40It gave me the chance to proudly represent Canada at an international stage,
00:01:44where I won second prize at the European Union contest for young scientists in Belgium.
00:01:52A huge credit goes to the Ontario Science Centre for keeping my passion and curiosity in science alive.
00:01:59I find it completely unbelievable that our provincial government is permanently closing the Ontario Science Centre
00:02:06and robbing children of their science, curiosity and childhood dreams.
00:02:13Students make up 25% of the Ontario Science Centre users,
00:02:18but the Ontario government never consulted us, our families, our teachers or our school birds,
00:02:26even though it directly impacts us.
00:02:30The government was determined to destroy the Ontario Science Centre,
00:02:34an intergenerational public asset, to justify destroying another intergenerational asset,
00:02:40Ontario Place.
00:02:46My heart goes out to a number of kids and families in Ontario.
00:02:51These kids need to experience the Ontario Science Centre as I did.
00:02:56We need to open more science centres and invest and take care of current ones.
00:03:02As they turn these kids into future engineers, doctors, artists, astronauts and even good policy makers.
00:03:14Instead, the provincial government chose to neglect and underfund the Ontario Science Centre
00:03:21and now it stands fenced off and permanently closed.
00:03:26The fight to save our public spaces and public goods is one worth fighting for.
00:03:31I cannot vote, but I have a voice.
00:03:34I'm writing letters to editors, meeting local, provincial and federal policy makers,
00:03:40signing petitions and using social media to organise classmates and science requirements in joining protests.
00:03:48I'm ready to become a voting age so I can cast my vote against those who vote against science and the future.
00:03:58I'm confident we can win this fight and make the Ontario government reverse its misguided decision
00:04:05and reinvest and reopen the science centre.
00:04:08Ontario Science Centre is ours to make discoveries, not to destroy.
00:04:13I urge everyone to keep protesting, keep organising and step out and vote during elections
00:04:19to support the future of young people in this province.
00:04:22Thank you.
00:04:29Anybody here worked out in the 9th grade?
00:04:33Were you like that in the 9th grade?
00:04:37What passion!
00:04:38What passion for science, learning, for the Ontario Science Centre,
00:04:45for the democratic right to vote, the person you want to lead our government.
00:04:52What passion, my God!
00:04:54We're just going to break it up before introducing the next one.
00:04:58Sir, why are you here today?
00:05:01I'm a science teacher.
00:05:03I love architecture and I respect the Thorncliffe Park and Flemington Park communities.
00:05:19I've never trusted Doug Ford and we know the deep bench of conservatives who hate Ontario
00:05:25and hate the working people and value money and developers over us.
00:05:29I want to fight this.
00:05:33Who agrees?
00:05:34Everybody, who agrees?
00:05:38Not loud enough, not loud enough there at all.
00:05:41Those whistles, I want to hear those whistles.
00:05:48Louder!
00:05:54Doug Ford's sitting drinking beer from the convenience store on his deck at the cottage in Muscolp
00:05:58and he thinks it's a thunderstorm coming.
00:06:00No, it's not a thunderstorm.
00:06:02It's the people of Ontario that are coming.
00:06:04It said, save our Ontario Science Centre.
00:06:07So, next up.
00:06:12MPP Adil Shamji, Don Valley East and his colleagues from the Ontario Liberal Party
00:06:19will be speaking about their passion for keeping a full-size, properly funded
00:06:24Ontario Science Centre in Don Valley East.
00:06:27Please bring all Ontarians.
00:06:35I am very, very unhappy to be here.
00:06:37Doug Ford is trying to drive a stake through the heart of Thorncliffe and Flemington Park
00:06:42and Don Valley East and all of Ontario.
00:06:44It's going to take a lot more than that.
00:06:46And we're unhappy that we have to be here in the first place.
00:06:49I am proud to be here with an amazing group of people like yourselves
00:06:54to fight for that Science Centre.
00:06:56And two very special people I would like to highlight.
00:06:59Andrea Hazel, MPP for Scarborough Guildwood.
00:07:05And someone who's very special to us and very special to the Ontario Science Centre.
00:07:10Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, Bonnie Crombie.
00:07:14Thank you, everyone.
00:07:15My name's Bonnie Crombie and I'm honoured to be here with all of you today.
00:07:19You know, on Friday night when this decision was made,
00:07:22some friends of mine posted pictures of a wedding that they were attending at Ontario Place.
00:07:29There's another side of this.
00:07:30And when they left the building, it was locked up forever.
00:07:34Let me tell you that this is just another story of neglect.
00:07:39The way Doug Ford has neglected the people of Ontario,
00:07:43the way he has neglected our health care system,
00:07:47moving us all to private medicine and private clinics,
00:07:52rather than invest in the system, rather than invest in our hospitals,
00:07:56rather than invest in our health care workers.
00:07:58Like the way he neglected our education system.
00:08:03Won't properly fund it, won't hire educators,
00:08:06won't have special education teachers in the classrooms,
00:08:10won't fund the backlog of repairs that are needed to the tune of $13 billion.
00:08:16And he has neglected the Science Centre at the same time.
00:08:20However, we know better.
00:08:23We know what those engineering reports say,
00:08:26that if today we were in the middle of the worst snowstorm we'd ever faced,
00:08:32maybe there would be a little crack or two.
00:08:36Was that reason for him to close the Science Centre today?
00:08:40Absolutely not.
00:08:43Every time a decision is taken, the first question I ask,
00:08:48who's benefiting?
00:08:51Who is benefiting from these decisions?
00:08:54And is it, once again, wealthy friends, wealthy insiders,
00:09:00lobbyists, the people who are funding this conservative government?
00:09:05Who's benefiting?
00:09:07Just like the Greenbelt deal, my friends.
00:09:10Who benefited, his developer friends?
00:09:13Who's benefiting from the 413 deal?
00:09:16The same, the developer friends.
00:09:19Who benefited from the closures of small family businesses,
00:09:24our Service Ontario franchises?
00:09:27Who benefited?
00:09:29Big box stores like Walmart and like Staples.
00:09:32Now we're driving business into big box stores, for goodness sakes.
00:09:38And of course, we'll talk about Ontario Place in a minute.
00:09:42Two weeks ago, we came forward and we said,
00:09:45there's another scandal brewing.
00:09:48It's a billion dollar booze boondoggle.
00:09:51Why?
00:09:53Because in one year, we were all going to enjoy a little more access
00:09:57to beer, wine and spirits at corner stores.
00:10:00But for just a billion dollars of your money, your money,
00:10:04they expedited those sales so that you can go,
00:10:07at a premium by the way, because you're still going to buy it from the LCBO,
00:10:11at a premium, get access.
00:10:13Think about what that billion dollars could have done
00:10:16to our healthcare system, to our education system,
00:10:19to make the repairs at the Science Centre.
00:10:23Right?
00:10:25My God.
00:10:26And for what reason?
00:10:28We also know that the reason he's doing this
00:10:31is to justify the $600 million parking lot
00:10:37that Therma Spa, another foreign company,
00:10:40which will be building on public land,
00:10:43our land, at Ontario Place.
00:10:46I don't know, sir.
00:10:47Are we going to have a hot tub together at $40 for entrance
00:10:50in an Austrian spa?
00:10:53Come on.
00:10:54This is outrageous.
00:10:55And all of us need to come together to stop it.
00:10:59With the power of the people,
00:11:01we made them reverse the Greenbelt decision.
00:11:04Right?
00:11:05And now to Adil Shamji and Andrew Hazel.
00:11:09Dr. Shamji represents the area,
00:11:11and I think he has a few things to say.
00:11:13Sorry to take so long.
00:11:16Thank you so much, Bonnie.
00:11:18Listen, in my writing alone,
00:11:21we have submitted petitions with well over 35,000 signatures.
00:11:26We have had people not just from Bombalities,
00:11:28not just from across Ontario or Canada,
00:11:30from around the world saying that they want
00:11:33the Ontario Science Centre to stay exactly where it is.
00:11:37Let me tell you something.
00:11:40Those people are not the only people
00:11:42who said that the Ontario Science Centre should remain.
00:11:46In 1969, at the opening of the Ontario Science Centre,
00:11:51then-Conservative Premier John Robards said,
00:11:55and I quote,
00:11:56I am confident that over the next 100 years,
00:12:02the Science Centre will have an impact on far more people
00:12:07than any other single centennial project.
00:12:11And it wasn't just the Conservative Premier
00:12:16who opened the Science Centre.
00:12:18Raymond Moriano was even more ambitious.
00:12:21He said it will last over 250 years.
00:12:25But under Doug Ford, it couldn't even last 60.
00:12:31You know, I'm not actually supposed to be here today.
00:12:34I'm supposed to be in Bracebridge
00:12:36because under Doug Ford, their hospital beds are closing.
00:12:40Before that, before Bracebridge, it was Durham.
00:12:46Before that, it was Minden.
00:12:50The Ontario Science Centre is a symbol
00:12:54for what's happening in Ontario.
00:12:56The Ontario Science Centre is our health care.
00:12:59It's our education.
00:13:01It's our infrastructure,
00:13:03which under this Premier is being allowed to crumble
00:13:06and fall apart.
00:13:09Now let me tell you something.
00:13:12Doug Ford has actually been shockingly transparent.
00:13:16Earlier this year, he passed legislation called Bill 151.
00:13:21With Bill 151, the Ontario government,
00:13:25the Ministry of Infrastructure,
00:13:27took control of public institutions
00:13:30away from public boards.
00:13:32It took control away from the Ontario Science Centre.
00:13:35Look what happened.
00:13:37It takes control away from Science North,
00:13:40from the Royal Ontario Museum,
00:13:42from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
00:13:48These are all institutions that are next on Doug Ford's target list.
00:13:54So today, this week, he published a report
00:13:59saying that the Science Centre roof is in a critical state.
00:14:02Less than 1% of panels need repairs, critical repairs.
00:14:06And I'll tell you this.
00:14:08I'll tell you what's in a critical state.
00:14:11It's not the Ontario Science Centre.
00:14:13It's Doug Ford.
00:14:16I'll tell you what's at the end of its life.
00:14:19It's not the Science Centre.
00:14:21It's Doug Ford.
00:14:27So today we're here to say
00:14:29the Science Centre stays right where it is.
00:14:35We're here to say, bring it on.
00:14:38Because there's a box in our province,
00:14:40and that box is called Doug Ford.
00:14:42Andrea Hazel.
00:14:45Okay, everyone, why are we here?
00:14:48Why are we here?
00:14:50We are here to save the Ontario Science Centre.
00:14:53Sorry, my friend.
00:14:55Because we here are going to make sure
00:15:00that he does not lift through that next election.
00:15:03Do you believe in the power of the people?
00:15:06I believe in the power of the people.
00:15:08You are the people.
00:15:10You have the power.
00:15:12You've got to stand up.
00:15:14My people, you've got to stand up.
00:15:16You've got to bring your family members.
00:15:18You've got to bring your cousin.
00:15:20You've got to bring even your pets in your house.
00:15:22Because we've got to take Ontario back.
00:15:26We're losing Ontario.
00:15:28Every area of Ontario that makes it work is falling apart.
00:15:34I've seen it.
00:15:36I have heard it.
00:15:38I travel with the government
00:15:40on their economic and financial committee.
00:15:44And every organization
00:15:46from every organization that represented healthcare,
00:15:50every organization that represents our public school system
00:15:55is falling apart.
00:15:57I want to rep the people from Scarborough.
00:16:01I am here repping the low-income families.
00:16:04I am here repping the schools from Scarborough
00:16:07that uses the Ontario Science Centre
00:16:10to teach their kids about technology and science.
00:16:19You know we need our next generation
00:16:23to come up and take part into technology and science.
00:16:28We don't want to have to be dependent
00:16:31on too many people that are coming in to do that.
00:16:34Look at our generation.
00:16:36Please take a look at them.
00:16:38I am here fighting for this generation.
00:16:40And I know you're here fighting for this generation.
00:16:43So I'm going to hand them this.
00:16:45Thank you.
00:16:49Angela Newsom delivers a line like nobody else.
00:16:54The people of Scarborough
00:16:56and the people of Ontario
00:16:58are very fortunate to have Andrea Hazel
00:17:01voicing her opinion.
00:17:03Her outlook and opinion.
00:17:05Because I know Andrea and she has an opinion.
00:17:09I was asked,
00:17:11they're not on the agenda,
00:17:13but the gentleman behind me over there
00:17:16with Green Party,
00:17:18his name is Christopher Collins
00:17:20and he's running this Crystal to say hello.
00:17:24Because we need to be fair to everybody
00:17:27that opposes Doug Ford.
00:17:36Hello everyone.
00:17:38My name's Christian Collins.
00:17:40I'm here today as a candidate,
00:17:42but I'm also here today as someone
00:17:44who loves the Science Centre.
00:17:48I am here and we are all here
00:17:50because we remember the long hallway
00:17:52with the history of the Earth.
00:17:54Because we remember learning about biology
00:17:56and physics and chemistry.
00:17:58Because we are curious.
00:18:00Because we have wonder
00:18:02about the world around us.
00:18:04And because we see through the transparent
00:18:06corruption of Doug Ford's administration.
00:18:12Thank you everyone.
00:18:22Wow. Thank you Christian.
00:18:24I appreciate that.
00:18:26Just to be fair,
00:18:28there's other people running this rally.
00:18:30But we've heard from the three opposition parties
00:18:33and we do have a time limit here today.
00:18:36So we're going to move on.
00:18:38I apologize.
00:18:40You might not like it,
00:18:42but we do have to move on.
00:18:44Thank you.
00:18:46So, you're pretty powerful, isn't it?
00:18:48What a powerful group of people here.
00:18:50And I need to take a deep breath.
00:18:52Is that...
00:18:58Thank you. That was powerful as well.
00:19:00So as we move on,
00:19:02I just want to remind everybody that
00:19:04Ray Moriyama, Japanese-Canadian,
00:19:06his first major commission
00:19:08was the Ontario Science Centre.
00:19:12And what I've said at other times
00:19:14is that
00:19:16most people see
00:19:18the Ontario Science Centre
00:19:20from the Don Mills Roadside.
00:19:24I've been a long-time park and ravine advocate,
00:19:26which I do most of the time,
00:19:28is I see it from the ravine side.
00:19:30And it's a totally different experience.
00:19:32It's a totally different experience.
00:19:34Ray Moriyama's brilliance was
00:19:36to bring the built form
00:19:38of brutalist architecture
00:19:40and the natural form
00:19:42of the beautiful
00:19:44West Don Valley together
00:19:46by leaving the mature trees,
00:19:48by leaving the creek that runs through it.
00:19:50And the brilliance of design
00:19:52to put a bridge
00:19:54from one building to another
00:19:56so you can...
00:19:58Way to go for Moriyama.
00:20:00So, thank you.
00:20:02You just got to cut me off
00:20:04and I'm going to move on.
00:20:06Well, speaking for
00:20:08the National Association of Japanese-Canadian
00:20:10is Mary Galloway.
00:20:12Mary.
00:20:18Thank you everyone
00:20:20for being here.
00:20:22I'm a member of the National Association of Japanese-Canadians
00:20:24and I want to take
00:20:26just a couple of minutes
00:20:28to talk about the larger context
00:20:30of the Ontario Science Centre.
00:20:32The Science Centre was designed
00:20:34by legendary Japanese-Canadian architect
00:20:36Raymond Moriyama.
00:20:42It is not
00:20:44the only one of Mr. Moriyama's
00:20:46works which are currently under threat
00:20:48in this city.
00:20:52While the focus here is on the Science Centre,
00:20:54there is a connecting theme.
00:20:56The fight to save the Science Centre
00:20:58is the same fight to save
00:21:00Ontario Place and it's the same fight
00:21:02to save the original Japanese-Canadian
00:21:04Cultural Centre.
00:21:06It's about
00:21:08protecting public architecture,
00:21:10spaces and cultural institutions.
00:21:12The original
00:21:14Japanese-Canadian Cultural Centre
00:21:16is just up the road from the Science Centre.
00:21:18It was one of the first buildings
00:21:20that Mr. Moriyama ever built.
00:21:22As a child,
00:21:24Moriyama was interned during the war.
00:21:26After the war,
00:21:28as more and more Japanese-Canadians
00:21:30moved to Toronto,
00:21:32Moriyama helped to convince the Japanese-Canadian
00:21:34community to come together
00:21:36and build this building.
00:21:38It's a beautiful building
00:21:40and 75 Japanese-Canadian families
00:21:42less than 20 years after the war
00:21:44came together and put second mortgages
00:21:46on their home to finance
00:21:48the building of that building.
00:21:58That building has now been sold to developers
00:22:00who are threatening to demolish and alter
00:22:02almost all of the building
00:22:04in a neighbourhood that desperately needs
00:22:06community space.
00:22:08There is another
00:22:10way for that building.
00:22:12It could be preserved and used as a community centre.
00:22:20Looking to Ontario Place,
00:22:22the Japanese-Canadian community
00:22:24gifted a temple bell to the province
00:22:26in 1977
00:22:28as a gift of reconciliation.
00:22:30That temple bell was also
00:22:32an award-winning Moriyama design.
00:22:38It has now been dismembered
00:22:40to make way for the thermos bath.
00:22:54In the NAJC's discussions
00:22:56with the province about the temple bell,
00:22:58clichés about the inevitability
00:23:00of change were offered.
00:23:02The temple bell stood for 46 years,
00:23:04less than half of the 95-year lease
00:23:06awarded to the thermos bath.
00:23:08Our public buildings
00:23:10are being left to neglect
00:23:12and we are sacrificing these cultural institutions
00:23:14for short-term goals.
00:23:16We are grateful to everyone
00:23:18who is here to support the Ontario Science Centre
00:23:20and who has been vocal about the brilliance
00:23:22of Moriyama's architecture of inclusion.
00:23:28I ask the province
00:23:30and the City of Toronto
00:23:32to think deeply about this larger context
00:23:34of the Ontario Science Centre.
00:23:36Do not let Moriyama's legacy
00:23:38end in erasure.
00:23:40Thank you.
00:23:42Thank you, Mary.
00:23:44Yes.
00:23:46You know what?
00:23:48The word that came out
00:23:50that I heard
00:23:52was Moriyama's design of inclusion.
00:23:54The other one that comes to mind
00:23:56is learning is fun.
00:23:58Learning is fun.
00:24:00The Science Centre.
00:24:02Alicia, is the Science Centre fun?
00:24:04Marushi, is the Science Centre fun?
00:24:06How about you?
00:24:08Is the Science Centre fun?
00:24:10I'll speak first.
00:24:12We need someone else to say something.
00:24:14The media.
00:24:16Quick.
00:24:18I want to say that
00:24:20the moving of
00:24:22Ontario Science Centre
00:24:24and the redevelopment of Ontario
00:24:26is selfish and illegal.
00:24:28The government should listen
00:24:30to the people.
00:24:36Wow.
00:24:38The government should listen to the people.
00:24:40Holy cow.
00:24:42What a concept for democracy.
00:24:44What a concept for democracy.
00:24:46He mentioned Ontario Place.
00:24:48We'll have,
00:24:50last, unfortunately,
00:24:52and Chris
00:24:54and MPP
00:24:56Chris Glover speaking for Ontario Place.
00:24:58We're going to move on now.
00:25:04You know what gets forgotten
00:25:06a lot of times?
00:25:08There's 400 employees
00:25:10of the Ontario Science Centre.
00:25:14400 employees.
00:25:16400 families.
00:25:18400 families that earn an income
00:25:20and spend that income in the community
00:25:22and help our economy
00:25:24as well.
00:25:26Some of those employees live in Flemingdale.
00:25:28Guess what? They can walk.
00:25:30Some live a little further. They can take transit.
00:25:32Now we're talking green.
00:25:34So,
00:25:36representing the workers
00:25:38at
00:25:40Ontario Science Centre is
00:25:42Martin Fisher and
00:25:44Colleen Holden.
00:25:50Hello.
00:25:56Hi everyone.
00:25:58Thank you so much for coming out today.
00:26:00I represent
00:26:02the people who work at the
00:26:04Ontario Science Centre, the ones in the lab coats,
00:26:06the ones that make your food, the ones that clean
00:26:08at night so that the science centre
00:26:10is clean again the next day.
00:26:16Our hearts are broken.
00:26:20It still
00:26:22hasn't fully sunken in, but it is
00:26:24so extremely
00:26:26sad to
00:26:28have been at the Science Centre on Friday
00:26:30walking around,
00:26:32seeing the fun
00:26:34all over the place, seeing the smiles
00:26:36on the kids' faces
00:26:38and knowing this could be
00:26:40the last day that that is
00:26:42happening.
00:26:44I am an immigrant to
00:26:46Canada. I came here 25
00:26:48years ago. The only place I wanted to work
00:26:50at is the Ontario Science Centre.
00:26:52I come from Switzerland. In my
00:26:54hometown, there's buildings that are 800
00:26:56years old.
00:26:58They're not built
00:27:00and then just left to be.
00:27:02They constantly were maintained.
00:27:04So, I'm a science
00:27:06educator. I work with the
00:27:08kids. Many of you have probably been in one
00:27:10of my classes. One of the things
00:27:12we do is imagine things. So everyone,
00:27:14I'd like you to close your eyes and
00:27:16imagine that we are in the future,
00:27:18200 years from now,
00:27:20and that you
00:27:22come to Ontario.
00:27:24Maybe you don't live in Ontario anymore. You come to Toronto
00:27:26and you go to the Ontario Science
00:27:28Centre and you know
00:27:30this is the place
00:27:32where Science Centres started
00:27:34in the world. There are now
00:27:363,000 of them.
00:27:38When it started,
00:27:40the idea was considered
00:27:42stupid.
00:27:44How would everyday
00:27:46people know what to do with science?
00:27:48That's crazy.
00:27:50There needs to be experts who
00:27:52tell you what to do. But Raymond
00:27:54Moriyama had the idea that this could be turned
00:27:56around, that we can all participate
00:27:58in our experience.
00:28:00That you can come and decide
00:28:02for yourself what you're going to do
00:28:04there. You can be yourself.
00:28:06Your inner child
00:28:08has a right to come out
00:28:10and live and be
00:28:12and we witness that everyday.
00:28:14So here's the crazy
00:28:16thing. Tomorrow, Monday,
00:28:18I'm going back to work at the
00:28:20Ontario Science Centre. It is
00:28:22totally safe.
00:28:24There is no
00:28:26roof that is going to collapse.
00:28:28But
00:28:30no visitors are allowed in.
00:28:32There is a fence around it
00:28:34like it is some crazy,
00:28:36dangerous place.
00:28:38I just wanted to end, but there's one last thing.
00:28:40Evan here in the red lab will come up to the front.
00:28:42So I don't know if you know that,
00:28:44there is actually a school at the Ontario Science Centre.
00:28:46It's called the Ontario Science Centre Science School.
00:28:50Evan's dad
00:28:52was
00:28:54at that school
00:28:56in semester 18.
00:28:58We are now in semester
00:29:0084.
00:29:02For 42 years,
00:29:0430 students
00:29:06have come and gone to school
00:29:08at the science centre. Imagine
00:29:102,400 people
00:29:12who have gone to school
00:29:14at the science centre and are
00:29:16all over the world having an influence
00:29:18on what's happening.
00:29:20So Evan here, you have not
00:29:22been at the science school, but you're wearing the lab coat.
00:29:24And so what
00:29:26we're all hoping is that we can
00:29:28turn this around and allow
00:29:30the science centre to continue.
00:29:32Thank you very much.
00:29:34Thank you so much
00:29:36for that perspective. My name is
00:29:38Colleen Holder, and I'm the regional vice-president
00:29:40for OPSU-SEPCO.
00:29:42And I'm here
00:29:44to bring
00:29:46a message
00:29:48from my president,
00:29:50J.P. Warnick,
00:29:52and also to
00:29:54stand in support of my
00:29:56400 members that are
00:29:58under my umbrella at the
00:30:00science centre.
00:30:02I say at.
00:30:04It's very hard to imagine that,
00:30:06that they won't be here anymore.
00:30:12Not to mention,
00:30:14I too used
00:30:16the science centre when I was a child.
00:30:18Came to the science centre and thought it was
00:30:20the best place ever.
00:30:26I heard a story from one of
00:30:28my members.
00:30:30It was someone from the community.
00:30:32Flemingdon Park.
00:30:34Raised her kids
00:30:36right across the street from the science centre.
00:30:38Took them to the science centre every
00:30:40single day.
00:30:42Fast forward, one
00:30:44is now a physicist.
00:30:48And the other is now a scientist.
00:30:54I became none of those,
00:30:56but that's okay. I still went to the science centre.
00:30:58I don't know
00:31:00what happened to me, but I have to
00:31:02say that it's so disappointing
00:31:04to watch from 2018.
00:31:06Ford,
00:31:08once he got elected, he cut
00:31:10every budget
00:31:12that made any sense whatsoever.
00:31:14Autism file, legal aid
00:31:16file, healthcare,
00:31:18education.
00:31:22But hey, good thing he's been working for the
00:31:24workers, right?
00:31:26Who believes
00:31:28that? Do we look
00:31:30stupid? I came to the science
00:31:32centre with my members in
00:31:34April 2023
00:31:36to tell the Ford government the
00:31:38reasons why it's a very bad
00:31:40idea to move the science
00:31:42centre, to move
00:31:44that large operation
00:31:46to a smaller space
00:31:48at Ontario Place.
00:31:50So hard for me to say
00:31:52Ontario Place now. I used to love that
00:31:54place too. Because now
00:31:56I can't go to the spa anyway, so
00:31:58why? Why would I go there?
00:32:00To use the $400 million
00:32:02parking lot? That's a good idea.
00:32:04Everything that we've seen
00:32:06Doug Ford do since he's been in office
00:32:08is try to decimate
00:32:10our public service
00:32:12one brick at a time.
00:32:18The Ontario
00:32:20court system, he closed down
00:32:22five community courthouses
00:32:24to bring everybody
00:32:26into a building downtown Toronto.
00:32:28They can't afford to get there.
00:32:30They can't afford to park there.
00:32:32They have their homes
00:32:34and they have their
00:32:36communities built around the port
00:32:38where they work in their communities.
00:32:42Courthouses are
00:32:44empty.
00:32:46And it's unbelievable
00:32:48every day you wake up
00:32:50there's something new.
00:32:52Some new boondoggle
00:32:54by the Doug Ford government.
00:32:58How do we even keep up?
00:33:00Can we keep up? Because I'm finding it hard to keep up.
00:33:02Every single day it's something new.
00:33:04Very hard to keep up.
00:33:06But he continues to
00:33:08privatize, you know,
00:33:10PP partnerships.
00:33:12Privatize all of our services
00:33:14so that they can turn around and say,
00:33:16Oh, see?
00:33:18People are coming into work.
00:33:20That's why we need to privatize.
00:33:22No, it's not.
00:33:24If we don't keep these jobs
00:33:26for our members, where will we be?
00:33:28Where will our kids be?
00:33:30I love what the Lorax said.
00:33:32Unless someone like you
00:33:34cares a whole awful lot,
00:33:36nothing is going to get better.
00:33:38Nothing.
00:33:40It's not.
00:33:42And say enough is enough.
00:33:44Doug Ford, do better.
00:33:46Do better for the people that voted for you.
00:33:50While he's there,
00:33:52do better because you know what?
00:33:56This is what's going to happen.
00:33:58Because you're going to get out there
00:34:00and vote him out of office.
00:34:02He needs to go.
00:34:04Keep saying,
00:34:06reverse your decision.
00:34:08We've seen him reverse so many decisions.
00:34:10He needs to reverse this decision as well.
00:34:12Thank you so much.
00:34:14Thank you so much.
00:34:16Is that two minutes?
00:34:18Of course it was.
00:34:20I just want to point out
00:34:22that there's a federal by-election here
00:34:24in Toronto, say, fall tomorrow.
00:34:26And the candidates are here.
00:34:28Please take a moment
00:34:30to stop by and
00:34:32raise your hand if you're a candidate
00:34:34or working for a candidate.
00:34:36See their viewpoint.
00:34:38Because, you know what?
00:34:40Ontario needs a different viewpoint
00:34:42than the one that's led by the Ford government.
00:34:44So please reach out
00:34:46to them as well.
00:34:48And vote.
00:34:50The other thing is,
00:34:52we keep mentioning that,
00:34:54I know Adil mentioned that there was a petition.
00:34:56He put down on his desk
00:34:58in the Ontario Legislature
00:35:00a petition with
00:35:0235,000 names.
00:35:04Save Ontario's
00:35:06Signing Centre letter campaign.
00:35:08When I looked on the way here this morning,
00:35:10it was 30,000.
00:35:12By the way, it was 21,000
00:35:14Friday morning.
00:35:16That means people are
00:35:18pissed.
00:35:20Are you pissed?
00:35:22No, it doesn't
00:35:24sound like that.
00:35:26Are you pissed?
00:35:30Are you pissed?
00:35:32Okay, that's better.
00:35:34I want to introduce
00:35:36Elsa Lamb.
00:35:38Elsa Lamb is an architectural journalist
00:35:40and has been
00:35:42right at the forefront
00:35:44of looking at
00:35:46trying to disseminate the BS
00:35:48from first the
00:35:50bogus business case that
00:35:52the Ford government presented
00:35:54and then the new
00:35:56engineers report that came out
00:35:58and said, wait a second,
00:36:00the sky is falling, the sky is falling.
00:36:02Here we are with dark clouds
00:36:04and the sky ain't effing falling.
00:36:06Elsa Lamb, please.
00:36:08Thank you so much.
00:36:10So I want to just be clear.
00:36:12I think we all know here,
00:36:14and people have said before me,
00:36:16this is a manufactured emergency.
00:36:18There's no reason that
00:36:20the Ontario Science Centre needed to be
00:36:22suddenly closed.
00:36:26On a Friday afternoon
00:36:28in the summer as the school year was ending.
00:36:30And the way that this,
00:36:32I've actually read the whole
00:36:34report, and there is
00:36:36nothing in the report that says
00:36:38that the roof is going to collapse
00:36:40imminently and that the whole place needs
00:36:42to be shut down.
00:36:44And the way that this was done,
00:36:46the way that this has gone down,
00:36:48shows such complete disregard
00:36:50for the visitors of the
00:36:52Science Centre, the many families and kids
00:36:54that I see here, and
00:36:56the community that relies on this place
00:36:58not only as a kind of
00:37:00special occasion museum, but as a real
00:37:02educational and cultural hub in their
00:37:04neighbourhood.
00:37:08I'm kind of a little bit emotional
00:37:10because I've heard from so many parents
00:37:12just in my group that are
00:37:14heartbroken because they just didn't
00:37:16have a chance to say goodbye to this place
00:37:18that was so informative
00:37:20in their childhood and in their kids'
00:37:22childhood.
00:37:26Even if you look at the
00:37:28financial aspect, this makes no
00:37:30sense. We all know that getting
00:37:32interim spaces to get summer camps
00:37:34going, or possibly to throw
00:37:36some of the exhibitions for a couple of years,
00:37:38those things aren't cheap. Why not
00:37:40use that money to actually just make the roof
00:37:42repairs?
00:37:44It's not right.
00:37:46We've already seen this.
00:37:48If you've been on those shuttle
00:37:50buses, those shuttle buses cost
00:37:52$2.5 million a year.
00:37:54Why not just use that money to repair
00:37:56the bridge?
00:37:58Yeah, why not?
00:38:00You know, there's
00:38:02three kind of things I see happening right now
00:38:04where I know that a lot of people here
00:38:06are eager to do more than just show up
00:38:08at a rally and sign a petition.
00:38:10But I think that there's three
00:38:12efforts that are happening right now
00:38:14that may explain why the
00:38:16government was so quick
00:38:18to shut down and so eager to shut down
00:38:20the Science Centre in this way.
00:38:22One is this growing effort
00:38:24of people being aware of what's happening
00:38:26and what the government is actually proposing
00:38:28of moving the Science Centre
00:38:30to a facility half the
00:38:32size and not nearly
00:38:34the architectural value of
00:38:36what we have currently, instead of just
00:38:38fixing up what we have.
00:38:40The second one, and we all know
00:38:42that Ontario placed an Ontario Science Centre,
00:38:44so please continue supporting this effort.
00:38:46Sign up for their mailing list,
00:38:48circulate the petition, especially for those people
00:38:50that have contacts outside of the
00:38:52GTA. Those names are especially
00:38:54valuable. The second thing I
00:38:56see happening is the
00:38:58Architectural Conservancy
00:39:00of Ontario is getting very
00:39:02close to getting this place heritage designated.
00:39:04So that's also
00:39:06a hold
00:39:08that we
00:39:10have accountable to actually
00:39:12preserving the architecture.
00:39:14So we need to be supporting that effort.
00:39:16And then the third effort that I see
00:39:18is the work of Ontario
00:39:20Place Protectors, who's fighting
00:39:22against Bill 154, another
00:39:24bill, I wasn't aware of 155,
00:39:26and this is the bill that says
00:39:28that the Ontario government can do whatever
00:39:30it wants in Ontario Place,
00:39:32and that it's not responsible to any
00:39:34municipal laws or any normal
00:39:36planning processes,
00:39:38and that it's also
00:39:40exempt from any civil
00:39:42or criminal liability for its actions
00:39:44in Ontario Place, which means
00:39:46that if it's uncovered later that there was
00:39:48dirty dealing happening in Ontario Place,
00:39:50which many of us maybe suspect
00:39:52or fear, then they can't be
00:39:54held accountable for that under the bill
00:39:56they have currently passed. So there's
00:39:58legal challenge to that. So please
00:40:00support all of these three
00:40:02things. Support Save Ontario Place,
00:40:04support ACO
00:40:06and their work to get this place heritage
00:40:08designated, and please support Ontario
00:40:10Place Protectors as well. Thanks so much.
00:40:12Thanks,
00:40:14that was great.
00:40:16I was asking to remind people
00:40:18how you get involved.
00:40:20Every poster here
00:40:22has a QR code,
00:40:24but if you're not a QR code person
00:40:26like me,
00:40:28save sciencecenter.com,
00:40:30sign the petition, sign the letter
00:40:32to the Premier, please,
00:40:34and encourage, if you have family outside
00:40:36of Toronto, encourage them
00:40:38because, oh, it's only Toronto's
00:40:40Toronto elites. I'm not a
00:40:42freaking Toronto elite.
00:40:44You know, when I'm looking around,
00:40:46he might be, but I don't think anybody
00:40:48else is. So,
00:40:50you know, we didn't make enough noise for a while.
00:40:52So I want to hear some noise.
00:40:54Somebody be loud.
00:40:56Who's loud?
00:40:58No!
00:41:00No!
00:41:04If you don't make it loud enough,
00:41:06I'll get Andrea Hazelback up here.
00:41:08So, you know what,
00:41:10Doug Ford has tied
00:41:12relocating the Ontario Science
00:41:14Centre to his
00:41:16ill-advised plan to
00:41:18support a foreign-owned
00:41:20mega spa to the tune of
00:41:22probably a million dollars.
00:41:24The three people standing next to me,
00:41:26four people standing next to me, have been involved
00:41:28since the very beginning.
00:41:34I've been involved since the beginning,
00:41:36and so have a lot of other people that support
00:41:38Ontario Place for All.
00:41:40So, Norm DePasquale,
00:41:42co-chair, MPP,
00:41:44Christopher Montan,
00:41:46Arushi,
00:41:48Chris Glover,
00:41:50Catherine Lowe,
00:41:52please give them a big round!
00:41:54Because the fate of one
00:41:56is more than likely
00:41:58going to be the fate of both.
00:42:00And closing
00:42:02and relocating the Ontario
00:42:04Science Centre is a
00:42:06smokescreen to support foreign-owned
00:42:08Therm Mega Spa.
00:42:10Foreign-owned
00:42:12Therm Mega Spa.
00:42:14You know what? I'm 70 years old.
00:42:16I'd like to see some of that billion dollars go
00:42:18to long-term care, to health care,
00:42:20to education, to fight
00:42:22climate change.
00:42:24There are so many
00:42:26other things to spend our hard-earned
00:42:28tax dollars on than to
00:42:30give it away
00:42:32to support foreign-owned
00:42:34Therm Mega Spa to take care
00:42:36of those elite
00:42:38that are not here today.
00:42:48Thank you, Floyd, and I want to thank
00:42:50Save Ontario Science Centre
00:42:52for getting 30,000 signatures
00:42:54on a petition, like 8,000
00:42:56in the past few days. You all
00:42:58need to talk to your friends and family
00:43:00all across this province.
00:43:02Doug Ford needs to hear from 25,000
00:43:04people in the next three days
00:43:06before this thing is going to reverse.
00:43:08So, talk to your friends and family.
00:43:10We're here because the Science Centre was shut down
00:43:12on Friday with no notice,
00:43:14leaving millions of families in the lurch
00:43:16through the summertime.
00:43:18I was a school board
00:43:20trustee, and I know how many camps
00:43:22are available in the summer, one week
00:43:24before the summer starts. Can anybody
00:43:26take a guess? Zero!
00:43:28So,
00:43:30the same weekend they fenced up the Science
00:43:32Centre, they started bashing down
00:43:34buildings on West Island in Ontario
00:43:36Place.
00:43:38What
00:43:40construction company does construction
00:43:42exclusively on the weekend?
00:43:44This is a government with
00:43:46something to hide.
00:43:48No one does construction on the weekend.
00:43:50At Ontario Place, the Ontario government
00:43:52used a minister's zoning order in Bill
00:43:54154 to strip all rights
00:43:56and protections from Ontario Place.
00:43:58And this could happen to the Science Centre,
00:44:00the AGO, the ROM,
00:44:02the McMichael Gallery.
00:44:04If we don't stand here, we don't
00:44:06stand for the rest of Ontario's institutions
00:44:08and identity. We've got to stand
00:44:10up.
00:44:14We are two minutes to the
00:44:16midnight on the Doomsday Clock for
00:44:18Ontario Place and Ontario Science Centre.
00:44:20If we want to save these places,
00:44:22we've got to get loud.
00:44:24Target PCNPPs especially.
00:44:26Make them feel vulnerable.
00:44:28Let's start right now.
00:44:30Will we shut down the Science Centre?
00:44:32Not for!
00:44:34Whose ears should we scream at until it reopens?
00:44:36Not for!
00:44:38Will we accept some temporary
00:44:40thrown-together Science Centre?
00:44:42No!
00:44:44The Science Centre?
00:44:46Not for!
00:44:48Thank you very much, everyone.
00:44:50And I want to introduce you to the MPP
00:44:52of Spadina 4 York who has fought
00:44:54with us every single day to save
00:44:56Ontario Place and save our Science Centre.
00:44:58And we couldn't ask for a better partner
00:45:00than Queen's Park, Chris Glover.
00:45:04I'm Chris Glover. I'm a member of the
00:45:06Provincial Party for Spadina 4 York which
00:45:08includes the Science Centre.
00:45:10How many of you want to live in a province
00:45:12that values science education?
00:45:16I see it's unanimous.
00:45:18We know the value
00:45:20of science education.
00:45:22We've got two people here. This is Catherine Little.
00:45:24She and her husband
00:45:26met when they were science educators
00:45:28as part of the science school
00:45:30at the Ontario Science Centre
00:45:32in 1988. She
00:45:34is now a science teacher
00:45:36and her husband couldn't be here because he's a doctor.
00:45:38This is the value
00:45:40of science education and the value
00:45:42of the Science Centre. This is Arushi.
00:45:44You heard from her earlier.
00:45:46The gold medal she's wearing around her
00:45:48neck, this is for
00:45:50the Canada Science Award.
00:45:52She won the gold medal at the
00:45:54Canadian Science Competition.
00:45:56Let's give her a round of applause.
00:45:58Her father started taking her
00:46:00to the Science Centre when she was just a toddler.
00:46:02This is the value
00:46:04of science education.
00:46:06Doug Ford doesn't value science education.
00:46:08He doesn't value our public spaces.
00:46:10He wants to give them away
00:46:12to private, for-profit
00:46:14corporations and then
00:46:16give them a big, taxpayer
00:46:18funded check as well.
00:46:20At Ontario Place, it's around
00:46:22$1 billion.
00:46:24They're going to
00:46:26destroy the West Island, they're going to destroy
00:46:28Ontario Place and hand it
00:46:30over for 95 years to Therma
00:46:32along with a $1 billion
00:46:34subsidy. It's absolutely shameful.
00:46:36Now,
00:46:38in the middle of the night, last night,
00:46:40Friday afternoon, they announced they're going to close the Science
00:46:42Centre because it needs $40 million
00:46:44worth of roof repairs. That's a
00:46:46lot less than the $400
00:46:48million that it's going to cost
00:46:50to build a half-sized Science Centre at
00:46:52Ontario Place. So we are going to stand
00:46:54up. We're going to fight for the Science Centre.
00:46:56We're going to fight for Ontario Place.
00:46:58And as you've heard, this is not just a fight
00:47:00for these two institutions.
00:47:02It's for every cultural institution
00:47:04in this province that belongs to us,
00:47:06the people of Ontario.
00:47:08Because with Bill 151, this government
00:47:10has taken control of the
00:47:12McMichael Gallery.
00:47:14They've taken control of the ROM.
00:47:16And they've already destroyed, and they're destroying
00:47:18the Japanese Cultural Centre and the
00:47:20Japanese Temple Bell. We've got to stand
00:47:22up. We've got to stop Ford's path
00:47:24of destruction. We've got to save the
00:47:26Ontario Place, and we've got to save the Science Centre.
00:47:28Let's hear it.
00:47:30Thank you, and you can
00:47:32all do your part. There's petitions over here
00:47:34at the orange tent. Please
00:47:36come over, sign the petitions,
00:47:38and I will tell you, and grab
00:47:40a button, and the other thing is
00:47:42win the Science Centre on the location
00:47:44that it is on now.
00:47:46Thank you.
00:47:48Thank you, Chris Glover.
00:47:50Thank you, Norm DePasquale.
00:47:52Hello, everyone. My name is Kristen
00:47:54Wong-Tam, the Member of Provincial Parliament
00:47:56for Toronto Centre. This
00:47:58is a remarkable turnout. There
00:48:00are so many reasons that Doug Ford
00:48:02has brought us together. Not only are we
00:48:04seeing the decline in health care, the decline
00:48:06in public education, the decline in long-term
00:48:08care facilities, but he is attacking
00:48:10families and children right
00:48:12across Ontario. My
00:48:14son, my beloved son,
00:48:16was born just a few months before the
00:48:18global pandemic, and I knew
00:48:20that when the sunnier skies
00:48:22would open up for us again,
00:48:24and the economy would open up, and the
00:48:26theatres would open up, I would
00:48:28be taking him to visit our
00:48:30treasured assets.
00:48:32The theatres, the Science Centre,
00:48:34the gallery.
00:48:36And
00:48:38I've had one opportunity
00:48:40to take my son there, because
00:48:42we have seen roving
00:48:44close-downs. But
00:48:46I was looking forward to a
00:48:48future where I could bring my
00:48:50son to the Science Centre
00:48:52much more than I have.
00:48:54And I'll
00:48:56tell you that it's been heartbreaking
00:48:58for me to think about
00:49:00the education that has been stolen
00:49:02from him, the experiences
00:49:04that have been stolen from him
00:49:06by Doug Ford.
00:49:08And then I think
00:49:10about the children, more
00:49:12children and families, especially
00:49:14those in the Thorncliffe community,
00:49:16who are largely racialized and
00:49:18low-income, and what the
00:49:20closure of the Ontario Science Centre
00:49:22is going to do to them.
00:49:24This is a travesty.
00:49:26And
00:49:28Doug Ford has built the crisis,
00:49:30manufactured the crisis
00:49:32on a web of lies.
00:49:34He has
00:49:36never been truthful with Ontarians.
00:49:38So not only
00:49:40is he lying to get his way
00:49:42to closing the Science Centre,
00:49:44and through demolition by neglect,
00:49:46but it is also important for us to
00:49:48note that the neglect didn't start
00:49:50with Doug Ford.
00:49:52It has been happening with previous governments,
00:49:54Liberals and Conservatives,
00:49:56where they have not been investing
00:49:58in our assets, our
00:50:00cultural assets, our scientific assets,
00:50:02and we need to make sure that the
00:50:04next government does exactly
00:50:06that.
00:50:08It is
00:50:10non-negotiable.
00:50:12The experience and the education,
00:50:14the opportunities for our children,
00:50:16and I'm willing to fight like hell,
00:50:18fight like hell, to make sure
00:50:20that we keep the Ontario Science Centre
00:50:22open, and we are
00:50:24at my word, we will reopen
00:50:26it.
00:50:28My son,
00:50:30your children,
00:50:32your grandchildren, your nieces
00:50:34and nephews, we are going to reopen
00:50:36the Science Centre for them.
00:50:38We are going to return Ontario Place
00:50:40to them.
00:50:44And there is no way,
00:50:46and I will tell you this, I've known Doug
00:50:48for a long time, I sat with him at City
00:50:50Council, I know what this guy is
00:50:52all about.
00:50:54He has a dream,
00:50:56and a dream that I will remind you of,
00:50:58what that dream is. He has
00:51:00always wanted to open
00:51:02a downtown waterfront
00:51:04casino.
00:51:06Mark my words,
00:51:08we will never see the
00:51:10Ontario Science Centre reopen
00:51:12at Ontario Place. It will not happen.
00:51:14We will not see
00:51:16a thermal spa being
00:51:18built. That will not happen.
00:51:20We are going to see a sleight of hand.
00:51:22The shelves on the table
00:51:24are going to be switched, and before you
00:51:26know it, we'll be told that a
00:51:28casino is coming to downtown Toronto.
00:51:30That is what Doug Ford
00:51:32wants.
00:51:36I'll tell you what we're going to do about it.
00:51:38If Marge Stiles
00:51:40becomes the leader,
00:51:42if becomes the premier
00:51:44of the province
00:51:46of Ontario, under the
00:51:48premiership of Marge Stiles
00:51:50and the NDP government, mark my
00:51:52words, the Ontario Science Centre
00:51:54will be reopened.
00:51:56Ontario Place will be given back to the community.
00:51:58And there will not be a
00:52:00waterfront downtown casino.
00:52:02No way. Thank you very much.
00:52:04Thank you.
00:52:12My brother here,
00:52:14from different families,
00:52:16and God bless me with a full head of hair.
00:52:18Anyway,
00:52:20as I said earlier,
00:52:22the Ford government has intertwined
00:52:24two what should be separate issues.
00:52:26Two separate issues.
00:52:28I don't want to see a science education.
00:52:30I wonder what the odds are
00:52:32in this slot machine. That's not a science
00:52:34education, that's not a math
00:52:36education. We want STEM education
00:52:38where people move on to
00:52:40positive careers. We want people that
00:52:42go into skilled trades, and that doesn't
00:52:44work if you're sitting
00:52:46in a casino. But one of the things
00:52:48we wanted to do today is to interact
00:52:50and ask people in the crowd,
00:52:52not just politicians, and
00:52:54involved people, and scientists,
00:52:56and people from Etobicoke,
00:52:58and people from all over the province to
00:53:00come out. I want to hear from you.
00:53:02I want to hear from you.
00:53:06Hi.
00:53:08The Science Centre
00:53:10not only affects children
00:53:12in Toronto, there is
00:53:14no school within the
00:53:16city of Toronto,
00:53:18whatever their background,
00:53:20whether it's public or private or whatever,
00:53:22no school can
00:53:24create a science program
00:53:26like the Science Centre.
00:53:28And
00:53:30children across the province
00:53:32come to the Science
00:53:34Centre on a class trip
00:53:36because the little
00:53:38communities where their schools
00:53:40don't have anywhere near
00:53:42what schools in Toronto
00:53:44have, need the Science
00:53:46Centre to develop
00:53:48their science program.
00:53:50So we need to reach
00:53:52not only Toronto, but
00:53:54all of Ontario, and we need
00:53:56to bring on board all the
00:53:58educators, all the parents,
00:54:00all the children,
00:54:02in order to fight
00:54:04for our Science Centre.
00:54:06Thank you.
00:54:08This gentleman had his hand up.
00:54:10He wants to say something.
00:54:12Sir, we're running out of time. One minute, please.
00:54:16Very quickly, I have an alternative
00:54:18idea for Ontario Place.
00:54:20Keep the original one, open a
00:54:22branch for the Ontario Science Centre
00:54:24at Ontario Place,
00:54:26and make it possible to educate
00:54:28the public about the Green Belt
00:54:30because the Oak Ridges Moraine
00:54:32is a natural aquifer that spills
00:54:34directly into Lake Ontario, right
00:54:36at that site. So it would be
00:54:38an educational experience at the
00:54:40same time as having the branch
00:54:42at the original building intact.
00:54:44And I would also say
00:54:46his name no longer
00:54:48to me is Thugford.
00:54:50It's Thugford.
00:54:52Excellent, excellent. And I will tell you something.
00:54:54And you know what? I don't think
00:54:56we could have too many
00:54:58science experiences, but
00:55:00until we properly fund
00:55:02the building that we have now,
00:55:04the facility that we have now,
00:55:06it's really impractical
00:55:08to open up other ones.
00:55:10I'd like to see one in all
00:55:12parts of the city. I'd like to see a water
00:55:14theme, one at Ontario Place.
00:55:16But until we can actually fund
00:55:18the government says they're
00:55:20going to fund the one we have, it's
00:55:22very impractical.
00:55:24Hi,
00:55:26Floyd, thanks for
00:55:28what you're doing today.
00:55:30You asked me why am I here?
00:55:32Well, in case you haven't noticed,
00:55:34we're in a heat wave, a really
00:55:36bad heat wave. There is no
00:55:38place to get in the lake.
00:55:40The public pools are
00:55:42overcrowded
00:55:44and polluted.
00:55:46And,
00:55:48I mean, it's criminal.
00:55:50We can't swim in the lake.
00:55:52There's no place to get in.
00:55:54They closed our beach at
00:55:56Ontario Place. There's no place
00:55:58to, the public parks, downtown
00:56:00public parks like Bellwoods,
00:56:02are overcrowded. They're at
00:56:04capacity. It's so
00:56:06cruel what's going
00:56:08on. That's why I'm
00:56:10here. Because these things are all
00:56:12related. The Science Centre,
00:56:14Ontario Place, and all of the other
00:56:16institutions that have been
00:56:18mentioned today.
00:56:20Powerful. Powerful.
00:56:22Swimming Lake Ontario,
00:56:24the cleanest beach that's now closed.
00:56:26Shame!
00:56:28Shame!
00:56:30I currently
00:56:32live very close to the Science Centre.
00:56:34I have an 11-year-old son. I'm sorry.
00:56:36I can't say this without crying.
00:56:38I've cried many hours
00:56:40this weekend.
00:56:42It's heartbreaking to me that they are
00:56:44destroying this building.
00:56:46It's architecture. It's history.
00:56:48World history. Not just Toronto.
00:56:50They're taking it away from
00:56:52a neighbourhood that desperately needs it.
00:56:54But I also grew up in the 905, so I have
00:56:56another perspective.
00:56:58Anyone who lives north of the 401
00:57:00and east of the city, especially all
00:57:02those school children. I came to that
00:57:04Ontario Science Centre every year
00:57:06as a kid in public school.
00:57:08Every single year.
00:57:10It will be an hour less time those children
00:57:12get at the new Science Centre
00:57:14at Ontario Place.
00:57:16If they even get to go.
00:57:18If it's worth going at all.
00:57:20Traffic's never going to get better.
00:57:22It is only going to get worse.
00:57:24It doesn't need to be downtown.
00:57:26For me, parking. That'll be even
00:57:28more horrible. It's convenient where it is
00:57:30for many GTA people.
00:57:32It's horrible what he's doing.
00:57:34It needs to be saved.
00:57:36It's architectural history.
00:57:38There's so many aspects of it.
00:57:40It needs to be saved where it is.
00:57:42And I don't know why he put that fence up.
00:57:44I took my son there at 5.30 on
00:57:46Friday night as soon as I heard.
00:57:48He went through that blue tube
00:57:50one last time before it got
00:57:52fenced off.
00:57:54We literally were there for an hour.
00:57:56I couldn't leave.
00:57:58It's heartbreaking.
00:58:00I thought I was passionate.
00:58:02I thought I was passionate.
00:58:04One thing that
00:58:06Minister King's
00:58:08survey had said
00:58:10early in this was that
00:58:12nobody goes there.
00:58:14Well, people go there.
00:58:16We went out there.
00:58:18We took photographs of the school buses
00:58:20in the parking lot. The parking lot was full of yellow school buses.
00:58:22We were there on Friday.
00:58:24There were still kids coming and going.
00:58:26Families coming and going.
00:58:28You can't go there. It's inaccessible.
00:58:30Well, it's sitting right on
00:58:32the arterial road, Don Mills Road.
00:58:34If you drive a car,
00:58:36it's 12 minutes south of the 401.
00:58:38It's 5 minutes west of
00:58:40the Don Valley Parkway
00:58:42if you're a transit user like me.
00:58:44The 25 and 95, 25 bus go past there.
00:58:46The Eglinton bus goes past there.
00:58:48And when my grandchildren
00:58:50grow up, they'll be able to take the Eglinton cross town
00:58:52there.
00:58:54But in addition to that,
00:58:56my great-great-great-grandchildren
00:58:58will be able to hop on the Ontario
00:59:00line downtown. I think that dropped off
00:59:02right in front. God bless
00:59:04my great-great-great-grandchildren
00:59:06if they ever be the first riders
00:59:08on the $30 billion
00:59:10$30 billion
00:59:12Ontario line.
00:59:14This gentleman has asked to speak.
00:59:16He said he's going to be brief.
00:59:18Hi, my name is David
00:59:20Depeaux. I represent the
00:59:2211,000 members of the
00:59:24Elementary Teachers of Toronto.
00:59:28Every single one of us
00:59:30values the presence
00:59:32and our experience
00:59:34at the Toronto,
00:59:36at the Ontario Science Centre.
00:59:38Where it is right now
00:59:40is accessible to many schools
00:59:42in and out of this city
00:59:44because it's close to
00:59:46transportation roads, close to
00:59:48the DBV and so on.
00:59:50I've taken hundreds of
00:59:52children personally to the Science
00:59:54Centre from my classrooms
00:59:56over 32 years of teaching
00:59:58and all of us
01:00:00believe that this
01:00:02Science Centre should be refurbished,
01:00:04rebuilt,
01:00:06renewed,
01:00:08modernized
01:00:10and stay in its place
01:00:12to educate students
01:00:14from all over Ontario.
01:00:16Hands up if you've ever
01:00:18been there.
01:00:20Right on. Exactly.
01:00:22I've been there
01:00:24dozens and dozens of times with
01:00:26children and so this is
01:00:28so important to us.
01:00:30And this is all part of this
01:00:32private, giant
01:00:34spa. Instead of spending
01:00:36money on the
01:00:38on a public
01:00:40absolutely necessary
01:00:42institution for
01:00:44all of us in Ontario,
01:00:46they're spending money building a
01:00:48garage underneath the
01:00:50giant spa down there and taking
01:00:52away public land. It's all about
01:00:54this whole privatization
01:00:56thing that this government
01:00:58is doing. So I say
01:01:00all of us, to all of us
01:01:02let's save our
01:01:04Science Centre.
01:01:08That's the
01:01:10comment over and
01:01:12over and over again.
01:01:14GTA
01:01:16school boards make up
01:01:1825% of
01:01:20attendance at the Ontario
01:01:22Science Centre. 25%.
01:01:24And I'm talking about Toronto school boards.
01:01:26This is all school boards. One of the
01:01:28things that the Ontario Auditor General pointed
01:01:30out was that
01:01:32not only did the province
01:01:34consult with the City of Toronto, our
01:01:36Mayor or City Council,
01:01:38but never consulted with
01:01:40the community of Plymouth and Thorncliffe,
01:01:42Don Mills or Leaside
01:01:44and they didn't consult
01:01:46or ask what they thought
01:01:48about to any of the GTA school boards.
01:01:50But they make up
01:01:5225% of the attendance and
01:01:54this gentleman said it so eloquently,
01:01:5632 years of bringing kids to the
01:01:58Science Centre to get
01:02:00a better education.
01:02:02Right over here.
01:02:04Scarborough kids need the Science Centre.
01:02:06I'm from Scarborough. I grew up
01:02:08loving the Science Centre. Me and all my
01:02:10friends from Scarborough went to the Science Centre
01:02:12for our classes, for fun.
01:02:14We need the source of education for an
01:02:16already racialized and minority
01:02:18dense community. We're already underfunded.
01:02:20We need the Science Centre to educate
01:02:22our young, to educate our youth.
01:02:24I will not let down this next generation
01:02:26like the other generation before we have
01:02:28let down me.
01:02:34Anybody else?
01:02:36We want to hear from the crowd.
01:02:38We want to hear from you guys.
01:02:40Anybody?
01:02:42We're still on time.
01:02:44I have a quick story. I'm coming home
01:02:46from being abroad and I'm on the
01:02:48UP bus, a thing from
01:02:50Pearson Airport. One seat
01:02:52left. I invite this
01:02:54scruffy, middle-aged man to sit beside
01:02:56me. I start talking to him.
01:02:58He used to come to Toronto
01:03:00every summer with his family from
01:03:02Detroit. He
01:03:04talks about the most favourite thing
01:03:06he would do, which was go to the Science
01:03:08Centre. Why was
01:03:10this man in Toronto?
01:03:12He's a Harvard Medical Doctor,
01:03:14educated man.
01:03:16He was here for a conference because his
01:03:18specialty is
01:03:20treating children with extremely
01:03:22rare blood disorders.
01:03:24He said when he was 7 years old
01:03:26and he looked through that microscope
01:03:28at the Science Centre, the world
01:03:30exploded for him.
01:03:32It was so powerful.
01:03:34We need to take our message beyond
01:03:36Toronto. I know everyone in Toronto
01:03:38loves the Science Centre, but
01:03:40we have to get every single person
01:03:42involved, even beyond
01:03:44Ontario. Thank you.
01:03:46Very well said. Thank you.
01:03:48I'll come to you next.
01:03:50I just
01:03:52wanted to point out that if they go ahead
01:03:54with this stupid plan to
01:03:56close the Science Centre,
01:03:58it means the loss of another IMAX screen.
01:04:00It's a dome screen.
01:04:02It's a Canadian invention. The first
01:04:04one was at Ontario Place.
01:04:06Wait!
01:04:08Yeah, exactly. I believe
01:04:10there's another
01:04:12theater, I think
01:04:14at the Museum of
01:04:16History or whatever they call it now in Ottawa.
01:04:18But
01:04:20I just want to point that out that the IMAX
01:04:22screen was a later addition.
01:04:24It's a dome and
01:04:26if they close the Science Centre, we lose that as well.
01:04:28Thank you. One of the things
01:04:30that we uncovered
01:04:32is that, did anybody here know that
01:04:34the Montreal Science Centre
01:04:36is not run by
01:04:38the City of Montreal or the
01:04:40province of Quebec?
01:04:42The federal government
01:04:44runs the Montreal
01:04:46Science Centre. It's Canada
01:04:48lands, just like our
01:04:50Downview Park
01:04:52and the CN
01:04:54Tower. So we're exploring ways
01:04:56to get maybe funding
01:04:58or the federal government to recognize
01:05:00that the Ontario
01:05:02Science Centre
01:05:04is an asset to all of Canada.
01:05:06Some of our posters say
01:05:08Made in Canada, what better way?
01:05:10The St. Ontario Science Centre
01:05:12is going to celebrate Canada Day
01:05:14at Mark Cardinal School
01:05:16in Don Valley West.
01:05:18We'll be there with the representatives
01:05:20there and the next one will be
01:05:22sometime in the middle of July
01:05:24in Flemington Park.
01:05:26Just to go back there, we've been there,
01:05:28we're going back.
01:05:30You know what, let's go to
01:05:32Doug Ford Senior Park
01:05:34in Etobicoke and show Doug
01:05:36Ford that Daddy says,
01:05:38Dougie, leave the Science Centre alone.
01:05:40Everybody else
01:05:42like to say something?
01:05:46My name is Amr, I'm 13 years
01:05:48old, I live in East York
01:05:50and science is
01:05:52something that I'm very passionate about
01:05:54and it's been a big part of my childhood
01:05:56and
01:05:58I've been going to the Science Centre
01:06:00for a very long time, since my
01:06:02early childhood and I
01:06:04still have gone to it recently
01:06:06and I would hate to see it
01:06:08destroyed and replaced
01:06:10somewhere else. The Science Centre
01:06:12is a major part of my life
01:06:14recently as well as
01:06:16right now and
01:06:18despite the next generation
01:06:20not being particularly
01:06:22political, I'm sure
01:06:24there are a lot of people that still
01:06:26express support for the Science Centre.
01:06:40Okay,
01:06:42there's one thing I wanted to point out,
01:06:44I looked it up this morning, the new
01:06:46Science Centre, if it ever comes, is not
01:06:48scheduled to open until 2028.
01:06:50That's right. It's 2024
01:06:52right now. That means our young friend
01:06:54and thousands and thousands of children
01:06:56who are in grade 9 right now
01:06:58won't be graduating
01:07:00with an opportunity to visit the
01:07:02Ontario Science Centre.
01:07:04Those
01:07:06kinds of special opportunities are rare
01:07:08and far between and
01:07:10those, and missing those for four
01:07:12hours, for four years
01:07:14is like going back to COVID
01:07:16and I don't think any of us want to go back to those
01:07:18kinds of opportunities where you don't have
01:07:20out of the home special
01:07:22opportunities to experience science and
01:07:24explore your own curiosity.
01:07:26I just wanted to remind everybody of that point.
01:07:30One more.
01:07:34Okay.
01:07:36Two more.
01:07:38You know what, sir?
01:07:40You can wrap it up for us.
01:07:42You know what, because
01:07:44they're the ones that are going to
01:07:46be there, so you're going to be our
01:07:48final and most powerful speaker.
01:07:52Thank you so much. So my name is
01:07:54Rachel Chernus-Lynn and I'm the trustee
01:07:56for Don Valley West.
01:08:00The Science Centre is right on the border.
01:08:02It's technically in Don Valley East
01:08:04but those of us in Don Valley West,
01:08:06we think of it as our own
01:08:08as well. I mean, it's all of Toronto's
01:08:10but it certainly feels
01:08:12like it's very much part of our neighbourhood.
01:08:14I grew up taking my kids there
01:08:16and I also serve as
01:08:18chair of the Toronto District School Board.
01:08:20I have to tell you that the fact
01:08:22of where it is, it is
01:08:24near one of the largest underserved
01:08:26areas in the city of Toronto in terms of being
01:08:28right at the corner step of
01:08:30Parkland Park and Flemington Park.
01:08:34Absolutely.
01:08:36You can only imagine the devastation
01:08:38of that
01:08:40announcement on
01:08:42Friday, yesterday, because so
01:08:44many of our kids walk there.
01:08:46Our kids are bussed there from all over the
01:08:48city of Toronto for field trips
01:08:50but we have a lot of kids who
01:08:52also are able to walk there and
01:08:54will no longer be able to do that.
01:08:56Those are not communities that can afford
01:08:58to get there. It also serves
01:09:00as a tremendous place of employment
01:09:02and internships and
01:09:04camps and all of those pieces
01:09:06for the communities around it.
01:09:10I just want to thank
01:09:12everybody for coming out here
01:09:14today because this is a
01:09:16gem in that neighbourhood.
01:09:18Just like our public schools
01:09:20we need to be investing
01:09:22in the maintenance
01:09:24of our infrastructure and that
01:09:26includes things like
01:09:28the Science Centre, like
01:09:30our schools, like all of our
01:09:32public buildings.
01:09:34The way we treat all our essential
01:09:36infrastructure, these should not be
01:09:38left to decay
01:09:40without proper investment and
01:09:42proper care. That's what government
01:09:44funds and that's what taxpayer dollars
01:09:46should be used for.
01:09:50I just want to thank you Norm.
01:09:52Norm was a school council
01:09:54chair for years.
01:09:56Different board but an ally
01:09:58none the same and I know you care about
01:10:00the kind of things that are so important
01:10:02in terms of education and the
01:10:04Science Centre is one of
01:10:06those things. I know next
01:10:08you're going to hear from someone really special
01:10:10and this is
01:10:12about the kids
01:10:14and when it's about the kids it's about the future.
01:10:16So I will
01:10:18hand it off to the next generation.
01:10:22Stand up. Say your name
01:10:24please. I'm Malcolm.
01:10:26Nice to meet you Malcolm. I'm Penn
01:10:28and I go to Science Centre
01:10:30I go every year.
01:10:32Every single year
01:10:34I go and what's next?
01:10:36What's next? He's going to take away the ROM.
01:10:38He's going to take away the AGO.
01:10:40He's going to take away the subway
01:10:42if he can get his head around it.
01:10:48I saw a sign earlier that said
01:10:50without science there'd be no beer.
01:10:52Just think about that.
01:10:54Okay?
01:10:56Think about that.
01:10:58That's all.
01:11:02Wow. Pretty good.
01:11:04We're going to wrap it up now.
01:11:06Save Ontario's
01:11:08Science Centre. But I want some noise for us.
01:11:10Please. Come on.
01:11:30Encourage your family. Encourage your friends.
01:11:32Encourage your neighbours to go to
01:11:34safesciencecentre.com
01:11:36Send a letter to Doug Ford.
01:11:38Send a letter to Minister King-Sarma.
01:11:40All of them.
01:11:42City Council. Mayor
01:11:44Chao.
01:11:46If you live in Toronto, your City Council
01:11:48will get it. We just updated it
01:11:50so your MP will get it
01:11:52as long as your MP.
01:11:54We're a loud, positive voice
01:11:56to support
01:11:58the Science Centre. We're a loud, positive
01:12:00voice to support
01:12:02an open Ontario
01:12:04place. Ontario Place for All.
01:12:06Support Ontario Place for All.
01:12:08Support Save RSC.
01:12:10Now we're going to have a little bit of fun
01:12:12because Jim
01:12:14Martin here, who's out here,
01:12:16who does all this phenomenal
01:12:18setup and work
01:12:20and all this stuff, wants us to
01:12:22party like it's a rock and roll
01:12:24show. So, Jim!