Infrastructure Ontario can’t say if science centre roof was damaged in major snowstorm

Officials won’t say for sure if the roof of the Ontario Science Centre survived a historic snowstorm in Toronto over the weekend, although the iconic building appears unharmed.

In June 2024, the Ford government spent more than a week planning the closure of the science centre over issues with the panels in its roof, finally announcing the move a few hours before it was shuttered.

The government, which helped to finalize an independent engineering report on the building, said the building’s roof was in jeopardy and could be breached by cold weather.

“The report found that the building, which is more than 50 years old, is at risk of potential roof panel failure due to snow load as early as this winter,” a government news release said at the time.

“While the building remains safe over the summer with an enhanced process for rainwater monitoring and roof facility management, these months will be required for staff to safely vacate the building.”

Eighteen months later, however, the building appears to have survived a severe rainstorm and a particularly snowy winter.

Most recently, on Sunday, roughly 50 cm of snow was dumped on Toronto, marking the highest daily snowfall totals on record. It came at the end of a month in which more than 82 cm of snow had fallen on the city.

Advocates who closely monitor the science centre — as well as images of its exterior — suggest the building’s roof has survived.

“We can see with our eyes — everybody can see it with their eyes — that that building is not a dangerous building,” Jason Ash, co-founder of Save Ontario Science Centre, said. “But the government persists in telling us to believe it is a dangerous building.”

Global News sent questions about the state of the building’s roof to Crown agency Infrastructure Ontario (IO) on Monday afternoon.

“The building is simply unsafe for Infrastructure Ontario staff to assess the roof and interior of the building, underscoring the seriousness of the 2024 Rimkus report on the immediate structural risks,” a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

They did not address questions about what steps had been taken to look at the building’s safety or why the agency considered it unsafe.

The Crown agency also pointed to comments from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who again defended the decision to shutter the attraction.

“I have independent engineering firms telling me it will be dangerous, and when there’s children in there and saying there’s a possibility of the roof collapsing, I’m not going to chance having children in there,” Ford said at an unrelated event on Monday.

“I’m responsible for that not happening.”

As Global News has previously reported, Infrastructure Ontario “worked” with Rimkis to finalize its independent engineering report in 2024, with senior staff discussing its findings.

Internal texts and emails showed staff had conversations about details in the report and its recommendations, including when the attraction would have to be vacated, before it was submitted.

Infrastructure Ontario said at the time that the move is a standard practice in finalizing an independent expert report.

“Following normal industry processes, IO worked with Rimkus to ensure that the final report captured the relevant information that was required to present to government and the Ontario Science Centre Board of Trustees in order for them to have all the facts necessary to make an informed decision,” they said in 2024.