Ontario infrastructure officials are further justifying their decision to close the Ontario Science Centre by releasing more details today on the issues with the building beyond its roof, but they aren’t revealing plans to address them.
They listed problems such as a failure of the heating system in one building, windows that have lost their structural integrity, and end-of-life sprinkler and electrical systems.
Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma says the focus right now is doing more investigative work and moving all exhibits and staff out of the building before the winter, when the possibility of snow on the roof creates an additional risk.
But beyond that, Surma said what happens with the building will be the subject of discussions with the City of Toronto, which along with its conservation authority has leased the land to the province to operate the science centre.
The government has said that the science centre had to abruptly close last month because of structural issues with the roof, but there has been widespread criticism of the decision to shut it down rather than address those problems while keeping parts of it open.
Surma and infrastructure officials held a press conference today to say remediation of the highest-risk roof panels wouldn’t be quick or straightforward, noting for example that roof repairs in the building containing the great hall would disrupt asbestos that would need to be contained.
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