NDP MPP Chris Glover says Premier Doug Ford\u2019s government is planning to take over Toronto\u2019s Exhibition Place to build Ontario Place in what he describes as an \u201cunconscionable land grab,\u201d but one minister says that\u2019s not the case.<\/p>\n
At a news conference on Friday, the representative for Spadina-Fort York said there\u2019s a provision in the province\u2019s fall economic statement<\/a>, which he said was \u201cburied\u201d in the bill that was released last week, that allows the Progressive Conservative government to add properties to the Ontario Place project.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, if this bill passes, it means that Exhibition Place would fall under the same bill that\u2019s governed Ontario Place, and it would allow the government, just like they did at Ontario Place, basically to break any provincial or municipal law that they want, including heritage laws and environmental laws.\u201d<\/p>\n Glover is referring to Schedule 15 of the government\u2019s Bill 68<\/a>, a proposed amendment to the Rebuilding Ontario Place Act <\/a>(ROPA) that identifies land by a Property Identification Number (PIN) for the project. The MPP says his staff asked Ontario\u2019s legislative library for a list of those properties, one of which, he says, is Exhibition Place.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Rebuilding Ontario Place Act is the reason that the government was able to cut down 850 trees in the middle of the night without doing an environmental assessment\u2026so the question is, why? What is the government\u2019s plan?\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement to CTV News Toronto, the office of Stan Cho, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, said: \u201cTo be clear, we are not taking over Exhibition Place. These legislative amendments are intended to be a back stop measure for all authorities in partnership to work together to rebuild Ontario Place in a timely manner.\u201d<\/p>\n The office said earlier in the day that the amendment will make it easier to deal with construction obstacles as they arise, like turning off a water source or running a new power line, without running into red tape.<\/p>\n In 2019<\/a>, the province first announced its plan to redevelop Ontario Place after it closed seven years earlier. The centrepiece of the $2.2-billion project <\/a>will be a mega-spa and waterpark at the waterfront site, in addition to a multi-million dollar parking structure and surrounding public spaces.<\/p>\n The project has faced public criticism before and after shovels went into the ground. <\/p>\n Work was paused briefly in July 2024 after an environmental advocacy group challenged the ROPA, which gives the government special powers to expedite the redevelopment of the site, including an exemption from the Environmental Assessment Act. The challenge was dismissed<\/a>, and some 850 trees have since been cut down <\/a>on the property.<\/p>\n