SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Ontario Assembly

43rd Parl. 1st Sess.
April 25, 2023 09:00AM
  • Apr/25/23 10:40:00 a.m.

The final supplementary.

The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

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  • Apr/25/23 10:50:00 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, let me just take things back a bit. In 2019, we announced our vision for the site. We announced that we wanted to invest in the site to bring it back to life. In 2021, we went out to the public again and informed them of the tenants that we were negotiating with. Then, just last week, the Premier and I and the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport were out again to inform the public of the progress that we are making on the site.

But do you know what we’ve done? We have learned from the past mistakes of past governments. We will have tenants that are going to invest capital in the site to build a brand new, all-year-round stage. We will have Therme, which will build a wellness and sports rec facility and waterslides with 12 acres of public realm. Most importantly, we will have tenants that will actually be contributing to the annual maintenance and repairs of the site so that it doesn’t fall into disrepair, like under their watch.

What we are doing is making the site sustainable. We will have three wonderful tenants: Ontario Science Centre, Therme, and Live Nation. Live Nation and Therme will now be contributing to the site, to the maintenance repairs to keep the site clean, to keep the site beautiful. Why? Because we don’t want it to fall into disrepair—like it was under the watch of the Liberal government. We want this site to be open for years and years and generations to come so that families have a wonderful place that they can enjoy with their families.

Mr. Speaker, that is what we heard from the public through the annual consultation process that has been taking place for several years. People want access to the site, and they want to enjoy it with their families.

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  • Apr/25/23 11:20:00 a.m.

This is a great opportunity for me to, after having a number of consultations with the chair and the CEO, remind everyone that if you haven’t been there lately, the science centre is open for business. There are a lot of great things going on there—school visits and opportunities for people to revisit, if they haven’t.

There’s usually a lot of conversation around a thing that people don’t understand because they haven’t really examined it.

But let me tell you this: When we talk about a potential world-class stage down at Ontario Place, it’s unbelievable. And then, all the conversations I’ve had with people across our province in tourism—

Interjections.

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