Minister defends Ontario Science Centre closure as necessary for health and safety

Ontario Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma is defending the decision to abruptly close the Ontario Science Centre, saying it was done for health and safety reasons.

Surma says she had every intention of keeping the science centre open in its east Toronto location until a new one the government is planning to build on the waterfront at Ontario Place opens in 2028.

But, she says, engineers who identified some roof panels at risk of collapse told government officials that the roof should be replaced in its entirety, which would take two to five years.

Surma says she will not risk the safety of children and workers who are in the building every day, so she supports the science centre board’s decision to close.

Opposition politicians and science centre supporters have criticized the abruptness of the closure, which was announced and put in effect on Friday afternoon, saying people should have been allowed through the building one last time.

Surma says even though the engineers said the building was safe until Oct. 31, when risk of the weight of snow on the roof starts, the employees need time to decommission the building and move all of the exhibits out before then.

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The Canadian Press