People use a walking path near Ontario Place's Cinesphere, in Toronto, on Thursday, September 29, 2022. (Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and Mail)Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and Mail
Do it all
Re Pharmacists Had ‘Big Year,’ Association Says (Jan. 3): I have read with interest the recent changes in Ontario that allow pharmacists to both prescribe and dispense certain medications, laudably saving patients a trip to physicians’ offices for minor complaints.
A number of years ago, as a practicing oral-maxillofacial surgeon, I asked why I could not both prescribe and dispense postoperative medications in my office. I was told that it would represent a conflict of interest.
Assuming equal moral fibre across all professions, will physicians and dentists now be allowed to both prescribe and dispense medications, saving patients a trip to the pharmacy?
Douglas Vincelli Calgary
The place to be
Re Waterpark Would Be City’s Worst Building (Jan 2): Ontario Place is supposed to be a place for all Ontarians to enjoy.
The experience Therme Canada will deliver can reconnect people with Toronto’s waterfront and offer a unique wellbeing and entertainment experience not previously seen in North America. In Europe, millions of people visit a Therme destination each year to ride a waterslide, go for a swim or enjoy cultural programming.
At Ontario Place, we’ll pair that family experience with nearly 12 acres of public space, including a network of lakefront trails, wetland zone and new public beach. We’re committed to restoring the West Island to the prominence envisioned by those who first saw an opportunity for a year-round multiactivity destination more than 50 years ago. Ontario Place will have a guaranteed future sustained through tenant funding.
As intended by its original designers, this will be a waterfront destination to rival the best the world has to offer.
Robert Hanea CEO, Therme Group Vienna
As a psychotherapist, I am always encouraging my patients to find green spaces in Toronto for walking and destressing. I myself bicycle down to Lake Ontario every day; Ontario place is a hidden gem, with vistas of the lake, a beach and park areas and outdoor concerts.
I am horrified that this public heritage site will be developed as a luxury spa with underground parking for more than 2,000 cars. Remind me, isn’t the subway being extended to Ontario Place?
The city is doing an extraordinary job developing the Port Lands around Cherry Street to the east. Why can’t we continue this culture of public green space at Ontario Place?
Anne Shepherd Toronto
Along with the two foxes I saw playing in the snow at Ontario Place a few weeks ago, birders, bikers, walkers, runners, bathers, photographers, residents and tourists would mourn the loss of the West Island urban forest if the “disaster” known as Therme is allowed on public waterfront land.
To this excellent critique of this ill-conceived project, may I add a further matter for Toronto’s mayor and city council to consider: What will the carbon footprint be for a glassed-in bathing facility the size of “roughly seven football fields” and filled with tropical plants? Pines not palms, please.
Jane French Toronto
The proposed Therme waterpark would be the perfect solution for a vibrant use of Ontario Place.
Architecture critic Alex Bozikovic thinks that the project is too big. Has he seen Toronto lately? The waterpark is big for a reason.
He suggests handing the management of Ontario Place to the bureaucrats at Waterfront Toronto. If that happened, we would be right back to 1968 and 50 more years of nothing happening.
He derides Great Wolf Lodge. If the Therme waterpark is as successful as Great Wolf Lodge has been in Niagara Falls, it would be a remarkable change for Ontario Place’s near-unused lands.
On our waterfront, families would join in activities 12 months a year, something unheard of in our wintery country. Kids would learn swimming skills.
Tourists would come in droves and spend money in Toronto. And tourists often arrive by car. Parking, lots of it, would be a plus.
Derek Jansen Toronto
Note: It’s Ontario Place, not “Toronto Place.”
The Ontario Line is being constructed and there will rightfully be a terminus at Ontario Place. But the Ontario Line will not go to Sarnia any time soon. Having a parking garage would not only be sensible but necessary, so that Ontarians outside the Greater Toronto Area can conveniently access their park.
Ontario Place is also about Lake Ontario. Let the lake be the feature. This should not be the place for a Frank Gehry or Daniel Libeskind glory-hog building. I find the current proposal an attractive, reserved design that does not overtake the water around it.
It may be true that the waterpark will not serve caviar of sufficient quality if the park was called “Toronto Place.” But it’s Ontario Place.
A waterpark fits perfectly with water, does it not? It’s as out of place as sand at a beach.
Roman Botiuk Toronto
“What is it doing here?” Good question.
Therme’s plan for Ontario Place would destroy what we already have for free. Why would we allow a company to build an indoor structure intended to be a wellness centre, in a park that sits on one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world?
The millions of dollars we’d spend for land remediation and parking can be put toward renewal to repurpose buildings, expand green spaces and ensure clean beaches and safe water for swimming and other activities. With a bourgeoning awareness of Lake Ontario as a valuable recreational, physical and mental-health resource, there is a percolating movement to have better access to it.
Ontario Place is a rare and immeasurably valuable property in the heart of Toronto. We should tell Therme that it is not for lease under their terms.
Some things money can’t buy. This should be one of them.
Sharon Purdy Toronto
I believe in great architecture making a great city. But I also know that the nuances of aesthetics only go so far in urban planning. Decisions about large projects are based on a business case.
Several big questions should be examined in an evaluation of redevelopment at Ontario Place: How many people would use this waterpark? How many jobs would it provide? How much money would government make? What is the carbon footprint? How sustainable is it? What impact will all that traffic have on circulation? How would it be accessed by public transit? Would it build Toronto’s international prestige, attracting talent and growth?
I deeply appreciate the significance of Ontario Place’s original architecture, but I understand cities need to grow and change. The proposition for preserving it should be made by answering tough questions about costs and benefits, along with thoughtful, innovative – and beautiful – solutions.
Nigel Smith Toronto
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