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The Ontario Science Centre has laid off 31 workers, CBC News has learned.
In an emailed statement Thursday, Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 549 said 27 permanent roles and four contract roles at the centre were impacted.
Scott Clark, spokesperson for Ontario’s Tourism Ministry, said the Ontario Science Centre is “making changes to effectively and successfully deliver science learning experiences” and programming at its interim Harbourfront Centre location and future Ontario Place location.
Those changes will create 1,000 new jobs, Clark said in an emailed statement Thursday, noting that there will be “no change” to programming and learning experiences delivered by the centre.
“New roles will be available for some of the impacted individuals at the interim and permanent [locations],” he said.
The province abruptly closed the science centre in east Toronto in the summer of 2024, citing an engineering report that found deficiencies with the roof. Critics have questioned that reasoning given the roof has survived record snowfall and rainfall in the past two years.
The government is currently building a new $1-billion science centre at Ontario Place with the goal to open by 2029.
