TORONTO, March 5, 2012 /CNW/ - Employees of Ontario Place will take their campaign to keep the landmark waterfront park open to Nathan Phillips Square on Wednesday.
They are asking all supporters of Ontario Place to come to the square to sign six-foot message boards, sharing their favourite memories of the park and reasons to keep it open. The message boards will be presented at a later date to John Tory, who is leading a provincially-appointed revitalization committee. A petition will also be on hand for supporters to sign.
| Date: | March 7, 2012 |
| Time: | 12 p.m. |
| Location: |
Nathan Phillip's Square 100 Queen St. W. Toronto |
There has been a public outcry since the closure of Ontario Place was announced on February 1.
The campaign to save Ontario Place is well underway. There are two Facebook pages and an 11-year old Northumberland boy collected 160 signatures for his petition to keep Ontario Place open. The petition was read in the Ontario Legislature on February 29. An op-ed article by author and academic Richard Florida in the Toronto Star, March1 strongly condemned the idea of replacing Ontario Place with a casino. A successful rally was held on February 25 at Ontario Place.
Attendance was up 89 per cent in 2011 as a result of $10.8 million in upgrades to rides and attractions, an investment that was long overdue.
"Attendance was up, concessions were up, and other revenues were up," says Warren (Smokey) Thomas, president of OPSEU. "Ontario Place was already turning the corner when the government pulled the rug out from under it. It could stay open during the revitalization, and 70 full-time jobs and 600 students' jobs would be saved. Public spaces are worth preserving."
For more information: www.saveontarioplace.ca
Karrie Ouchas, OPSEU Communications - 1-800-268-7376, ext. 8245
Share this article