It’s full steam ahead for the Therme spa at Ontario Place, says Premier Doug Ford.
Under a second day of pressure from opposition parties to cancel the waterpark and spa deal, Ford said Thursday “we’re moving forward on this, and we’re going to go as quickly as possible.”
The pronouncement followed a New York Times story Wednesday alleging the European company misrepresented itself and its finances to win the contract, prompting the premier to pledge “we’ll look into it and make sure it passes the smell test.”
Ford maintained it does and Therme, which was granted a 95-year lease by Infrastructure Ontario for the waterfront project, released a statement ThursdayÌýcalling the Times reportÌý— which stated Therme “exaggerated its experience” to secure the spa contractÌý— “simply untrue.”
Therme said it runs two large spa resorts in Bucharest and Munich in addition to a “collaborative partnership” with a similar company since 2019, “followed all the rules of the bidding process” and met a net worth requirement of $100 million.Ìý
“I’m very satisfied,” Ford told reporters at the É«É«À² Stock Exchange, where he announced legislation to fast-track mining and missed a barrage of questions from rival parties in the legislature.
“We looked into it, and it was clear as day,” the premier added.
Critics of the deal remain unconvinced given that Ontario’s auditor general flagged concerns last December about the process for the spa site, finding Therme’s finances “appeared weak” and the company was given special access to provincial executives during a bidding process that was “not fair or transparent.”Ìý
In the legislature Thursday, Liberal House Leader John Fraser mocked Ford’s bravado for going ahead with the Therme contract.Ìý
“All the premier had to do was scratch and sniff. This deal stinks.”
Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma has defended the contract by noting Therme passed Infrastructure Ontario’s rigorous financial process and stressed the Ontario Place redevelopment will create almost 5,000 construction and other jobs in addition to 2,000 permanent positions.
“Therme hit the jackpot and Ontarians got ripped off,” said New Democrat Leader Marit Stiles. “Ontarians are going to be stuck paying for this for the next 95 years.”
Ford said the waterpark and spa is just one part of Ontario Place in addition to the Live Nation concert venue, a new Ontario Science Centre and parkland open to the public. The auditor general found the cost of the entire development had ballooned to $2.2 billion, which is several times the original estimate.Ìý
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