It seems that Torontonians will not give up Ontario Place without a fight.

Public consultations on the future of the neglected waterfront park and the local landmarks contained therein began Tuesday evening at city hall, and the boisterous turnout was enough to fill an entire committee room and half the overflow room across the hall.

Thirty-six presentations were heard during the meeting, which went on for more than three-and-a-half hours but didn’t lack thoughtfully and passionately presented ideas ranging from museums to a houseboat community to a “family-oriented music theme park.”

The two rooms were packed with representatives of activist groups such as the newly formed Ontario Place for All and Waterfront for All, the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, community groups from Parkdale, Dundas and Ossington and nearby Liberty Village, as well as numerous regular citizens who simply care about preserving the space. Also in attendance were at least one retired civil servant from the Ontario tourism ministry, former Ontario Place manager Max Beck, and even a guy from a group called Toronto Slackline.

The rooms erupted in applause after each proposal was made. It was a slight breach of city council etiquette, but the councillors present for the discussion decided to let it slide.

“Traditionally, we don’t permit clapping,” remarked Coun. Joe Cressy at the outset of the Ontario Place subcommittee meeting. “But with the concurrence of my fellow councillors I will say that tonight we will permit clapping.”

Read more:

Majority of Toronto residents want public waterfront access at Ontario Place — not a casino, poll finds

Opinion | Shawn Micallef: Ontario Place has considerable heritage value — and the province knows it

Minister repeatedly calls state of Ontario Place ‘shameful’ in closed-door meeting, say sources

The public recommendations weren’t as all-over-the-place as one might have suspected. Well-received suggestions included building affordable housing along the waterfront; making it a destination for a “swimming pier” akin to Gordon Edgar Downie pier in Kingston with public sauna facilities; creating a “World Water Museum”; handing the land over to its original caretakers as an “Indigenous historical museum site.”

The consensus was that the land must remain free and accessible to the public and that the award-winning architecture, with its suspended pods and Cinesphere, must remain intact.

Other recurring themes were that whatever Toronto and the province wind up doing with Ontario Place should ensure that it’s at maximum use year-round, and that such use would be greatly facilitated by better public transit access. As Beck put it, Ontario Place is something of an “isolated fortress” at the best of times, but particularly during the more frigid reaches of winter.

No one stepped up to echo Premier Doug Ford’s wishes for a casino on the lakeshore.

“No casino, no casino, no casino,” said Ontario Place for All’s Cynthia Wilkey, echoing a general sentiment of the evening — although a gentleman advocating for a community of low-cost housing in the form of houseboats along the waterfront — anchored by a decommissioned cruise-ship as hotel — joked that the latter could host “the occasional casino night,” to chuckles all around.

The Ontario government recently put out a wide-open invitation for corporate proposals and hasn’t ruled out demolishing such pieces of heritage architecture, including the Cinesphere. The city owns the connection between the shoreline and two Ontario Place islands, and Exhibition Place, which has streetcar and GO connections to the site. The federal government has an interest in the flight path to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, said Cressy, whose ward includes Ontario Place.

He said Torontonians need to have a say, as do the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. A representative of the Mississaugas, Councillor Stephanie Laforme, attended but didn’t wind up presenting. She declined to comment on a land claim the Mississaugas have staked on Ontario Place, which — since it was built on water — they claim does not count as part of the lands ceded in the Toronto Purchase, until she could clear it with her chief.

“What Ontario Place should be is a public space for all. It shouldn’t be a megamall or a casino,” said Cressy, who is on the four-member committee. “Its future should not be determined in private by Doug Ford’s friends.”

The Ford government announced in January that it will solicit international proposals this spring on how to turn Ontario Place into “a spectacular world-class, year-round destination to visit in North America.” The site had been partially reopened in recent years after being closed by the previous Liberal government in 2012.

Tourism Minister Michael Tibollo said he hopes “exciting sport and entertainment landmarks, public parks or shopping” will replace the former educational amusement park, but won’t rule out a casino, megamall or anything else — except housing or destruction of the Budweiser Stage amphitheatre.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The province invited Ontarians to submit ideas for the site via email, but scheduled no other consultations before launching a process which is expected to identify several international corporations to build on public land acquired through long-term leases with the government.

Brett Weltman, Tibollo’s press secretary, said Tuesday the province has made no decisions regarding future long-term uses of Ontario Place. He noted a deal with Cirque du Soleil is part of efforts to “reactivate and re-energize” the site.

“We look forward to working with Exhibition Place and the City of Toronto as we continue to make progress on turning Ontario Place into a space that can be used by local residents and Ontarians alike,” Weltman wrote in an email.

With files from David Rider

Ben Rayner is the Star's music critic and based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @ihateBenRayner

Read more about: