NDP Ontario leader Marit Stiles has filed a complaint with the Ontario Integrity Commissioner about the process in which Austrian spa company Therme was chosen to redevelop Ontario Place.
In her affidavit to the Integrity Commissioner, Stiles questions the call-for-development of Ontario Place, the evaluation process, and the lease agreement with Therme. Stiles claims that Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma has shown “preferential treatment” to Therme during the Ford government’s process of partnering with private companies to redevelop Ontario Place. As a result, Stiles is asking for an investigation to indentify whether the infrastructure minister broke ethics laws by choosing Therme as the main proponent for the redevelopment of Ontario Place.
Along with the letter, the complaint also includes a nine page-long affidavit, and over 1,000 pages of documentary evidence. The documents reveal that the province is required to provide Therme with 1,600 parking spaces in a planned garage that will have over 2,000 spaces—even though the call for development was explicit in only offering existing parking to applicants. “This evidence suggests that Therme received preferential treatment, and its private interests were improperly furthered, as a result of decisions for which Minister Kinga Surma is ultimately responsible,” reads the letter.
The complaint also cites evidence reported in Canadian Architect that the Provincial government unnecessarily closed the Ontario Science Centre, based on a deliberate misinterpretation of engineering reports about the roof condition.
The letter concludes with a request that the office investigate whether Minister Surma breached sections 2 and 3 of the Members Integrity Act.
The full letter and affidavit are included below, and the evidence attached to the affidavit can be downloaded at this link.