Future Ontario Place to feature water and adventure parks, revamped concert venue - CBC.ca

The new Ontario Place will include an indoor waterpark and spa, a revamped concert venue and an "adventure park," the province announced on Friday.

It said the site's most iconic features and greenspace will be preserved.

Three companies were selected for the redevelopment, including Austrian company Therme — which specializes in waterparks and spas — as well the Quebec outdoor recreation firm Écorécréo. 

The third company, Live Nation, already operates the existing music venues on site.

The trio will "help deliver an exciting, inclusive and family friendly experience that will play a key role in the province's post-pandemic recovery, both as a tourism destination and as a display of Ontario's strong cultural identity," the province said in a news release.

Some details of the highly-anticipated redevelopment plan were shared at a morning news conference that included Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Culture Minister Lisa MacLeod, Toronto Mayor John Tory, and Chief R. Stacey Laforme of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

"As we mark the 50th anniversary of Ontario Place this year, there is no better time to bring this iconic destination back to life," Ford said in the release. Ontario Place first opened in 1972, but was closed in 2012 after years of declining attendance.

Still, the province said it will be preserving many of the "key heritage and recreational features" of Ontario Place, including the Cinephere, the pod complex, the marina, Trillium Park and the William G. Davis Trail.

The government said it is committed to working with the Ontario Science Centre to have science-related tourism and educational programming at the Cinesphere and pods.

Up to 5M visitors expected each year

Therme will build an "all-season destination offering something for all ages, including pools, waterslides, botanical spaces to relax, as well as sports performance and recovery services," per the release.

Details about costs to visitors are still being finalized, a representative from Therme said at a morning briefing for the media. Officials expect access to be free for children three and under, while the price for individual adults will be around $40.

There will also be roughly eight acres of "free, publicly accessible" gathering spaces, parkland and gardens on the part of the property being leased by Therme, the province said.

The new adventure park will include about a dozen "aerial courses" with options for visitors of all ages.

Meanwhile, the revamped indoor/outdoor Budweiser Stage Amphitheatre will have room for up to 20,000 people in the summer and nearly 9,000 in the winter.

The province said it eventually expects the reopened Ontario Place to welcome up to five million visitors per year. The redevelopment will include up to $500-million in investments from the private sector, the province said, and could create up to 3,600 new jobs in the City of Toronto — though no details were provided about what those jobs might be.

Still a long road ahead

At the briefing, officials couldn't say how much capital investment from the province will be required for the redevelopment. The province says many more steps need to be completed before construction of the new amenities can begin in earnest — including a major site remediation and overhaul of existing infrastructure, which has not seen any upgrades in more than 20 years.

As for the timeline, a comprehensive environmental assessment is slated to begin in November, while modernization of the existing infrastructure is expected to start in December.

The province will then need to undertake an environmental and heritage review process that includes several rounds of further public consultation, which will start this fall and likely extend into 2023, officials said.

Construction on the planned amenities is scheduled to begin in 2024, with completion sometime in or before 2030, they added.

The public will be able to continue accessing Trillium Park and The William G. Davis trail throughout the redevelopment process, officials said. They could not say for certain if the Cinesphere, which was operating as a movie theatre before the COVID-19 pandemic, will stay open.

A request for proposals went out in 2019, and the winning bids were picked from more than 30 submissions, according to the province. It said it opted to work with a mix of companies since no plausible, site-wide proposals were submitted.

The province will be leasing the land, provincial officials said, given strong opposition to any sale of provincially-owned land. 

During public consultations for the development, the province heard repeatedly that it should prioritize public access to the waterfront and the preservation of heritage elements, officials said. There was strong opposition to any sale of the provincially-owned land, as well as the construction of condominiums and a casino, officials added.

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‘No place like home’ for contending Blue Jays - TSN

TORONTO — No matter how you break it down, one thing is certain: The Toronto Blue Jays have been gone far too long.

Twenty-two months.

Or maybe you prefer 670 days, the number that immediately crossed club president/CEO Mark Shapiro’s mind when he received word on July 16 that the Jays were being given permission by the federal government to hop the border and come home.

When the Jays take to the brand-new seamless turf at Rogers Centre on Friday night, they’ll look like a much, much different team than the one Toronto baseball fans last saw finishing off a 95-loss season on Sept. 29, 2019.

While debates can be had about how legitimate of a contender this club is down the stretch, they’re a contender nonetheless.

In the time this franchise has been gone from Toronto due to COVID-19 health restrictions, they’ve morphed from rebuilder to win-now in fairly quick fashion.

There are a lot of teams around baseball that would love a relatively small three-year down period, as the Jays went through from 2017-19.

When it comes to baseball rebuilds, that’s F1 speed.

Ask the Baltimore Orioles.

Since squaring off with the Jays — and losing, thanks to Edwin Encarnacion’s wild walk-off — in the 2016 wild-card game, they’ve gone on to finish 75-87, 47-115, 54-108, 25-35, and are currently 35-66 and well on their way to another top-three pick in next year’s draft.

There’s some impact talent on the way thanks to those finishes, sure, but it’s a rebuild that’s light years behind the Blue Jays’ quick turnaround.

With a group of elite, young talent that was quickly surrounded by marquee free-agent additions like Hyun Jin Ryu, handed $80 million in December of 2019 just prior to the pandemic, and George Springer, lured for a franchise-record $150 million in January, Jays fans are in for a treat.

It may not end the way they hope simply because winning rings is very, very hard to do, but the entertainment value when the Jays finally return home Friday night for their traditional 7:07 p.m. first pitch is off the charts.

With a deep farm system and more financial resources expected to be poured into the roster this winter, this franchise is as healthy as it's been since Joe Carter was walking off Mitch Williams and the Philadelphia Phillies.

As the Jays wrapped up in Boston on Thursday night and made their way onto the charter to Toronto, it’s a sigh-of-relief moment for the entire club, one that hasn’t felt any sort of true homefield advantage in a long time.

While Ryu will have to wait until at least Tuesday to make his Toronto debut, Springer’s will without a doubt come Friday night against the Kansas City Royals.

“The fans,” Springer said of what he’s looking forward to most. “Everything. The fans are awesome. I can’t wait to hear the excitement, to see the excitement in the stands. Like we’ve said, there’s no place like home and we know where home is.”

It’s certain Rogers’ bottom line has been affected by the time away, but manager Charlie Montoyo’s group waded through the adversity to play pretty good baseball in their temporary Buffalo, then Dunedin, then Buffalo again digs over the past calendar year.

In 2020, they surged to a 17-9 mark at Sahlen Field, earning a spot in the expanded postseason with a 34-28 record.

This season, you could see the uncertainty and unenviable situations take a toll, but the Jays have battled to a 22-22 mark at TD Ballpark and Sahlen Field.

With division-rival Tampa so close to Dunedin and the Red Sox Nation entrenched up the road in Fort Myers, Fla., the early-season stint at their spring training ballpark was a tough one.

They were far too often the road team and heckled at home.

Bo Bichette is looking forward to one thing.

“Having a real homefield,” Bichette said. “Not a lot of people realize, but it really feels like we’ve been on the road for four months now. So to be able to kind of find a home and have our own fans in the stadium … when we’re playing the Red Sox and Yankees, we’re not wondering who’s going to be in the stands, we know it’s going to be Blue Jays fans. That will be big for us and hopefully we can take advantage of it.”

With Ryu starting Thursday’s important division game in Boston, 2020 trade deadline acquisition Ross Stripling will get the ball for the Jays on Friday.

“I don’t take that lightly at all,” Stripling said. “Like you said, a country that hasn’t seen live baseball in two years so a lot of people are going to be fired up and obviously we’re going to have some fans in the stands.

“Man, that place is going to be buzzing.”

The 10-game homestand that kicks off is a crucial one.

“As we were walking through the process, that was monumental,” Shapiro said. “That wasn’t small. It’s a 10-game homestand on July 30. That’s more than 25 per cent of our remaining games. That’s almost 10 per cent of our entire home schedule.

“To be able to get back in the heat of a race for playoffs for a crucial 10-game homestand — hopefully, after we’ve added to our team, as well, in the days leading up to that return — to me is about as big a competitive swing as you can possibly have.”

It will take time to digest everything that’s happened over the past year and a half, but there’s no doubt Friday — and the date July 30 — will be remembered for a long time.

Game 100 of the Jays’ 2021 campaign isn’t just another nine innings.

“I know it’s going to be special,” Shapiro said. “I’m not someone who tends to think about moments being symbolic or moments being big, I tend to think about the journey more than any individual moment. Yet, right after this decision was made, my thoughts did turn to what, potentially, July 30 could be and what it could mean. I’ve always kind of felt like baseball’s played a role in history, in the recovery from adversity and from challenges. Whether it’s wars, 9/11, different times, baseball seems to have been one of those symbols of continuity, of return to normalcy. I really feel like it’s going to be a celebratory moment for the country, for the city.”

And a night to remember for the lucky 15,000 that get to celebrate not only the return of Major League Baseball to Toronto, but a return to contention, too.​

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Ottawa's top doctor wants to see provincial mask mandates remain in place this fall - CTV News Ottawa

OTTAWA -- Ottawa's medical officer of health says she wants to see mask mandates remain in effect across Ontario even after the province moves out of Step 3 of its reopening plan.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Dr. Vera Etches said she has spoken with Ontario's chief medical officer of health. Dr. Kieran Moore, about maintaining a province-wide mask mandate come fall.

"What I expect, going into the fall, is that (Ottawa) will continue to operate under provincial regulations and I'm speaking with our chief medical officer of health about continuing to include mask requirements for crowds," she said.

"My recommendation would be to have a province-wide approach," she added. "We're all connected and travel is increasing as people have that protection (from vaccines). It's one of those things that is under active conversation and consideration for the next step."

On Thursday, Ontario hit one of its benchmarks for moving beyond Step 3, but Health Minister Christine Elliott said there is still work to be done. The earliest Ontario can move past Step 3 is Aug. 6. 

Ottawa has a local mandatory mask bylaw that covers mask use in public places, but city staff say it will expire on Aug. 26, as local authorities have been following the provincial guidelines. The temporary mandatory mask bylaw was first enacted when there were no provincial regulations regarding mask use as a public health measure.

Etches says that although the Public Health Agency of Canada says small groups of fully vaccinated people do not require masks, they are still a helpful tool in larger groups or when the vaccination status of others is unknown.

"Often, we don't know the vaccination status of others in the workplace or others in a crowd," she said. "Masks, in particular, are a very useful tool to continue to keep transmission lower when you're indoors and in crowded places."

Aside from masks, however, Etches was unsure about what other restrictions she would want to see continue.

"I think this is part of what we need to monitor and assess: which of the measures are going to be the most effective and strike the right balance as we go into the fall," she said. "I'm not part of the public health measures table, but I know they have been looking at the evidence and the international experience around what is worth maintaining and, clearly, masks stand out as one of the practices that is helpful."

Etches said she is confident vaccine uptake combined with continued public health measures will help keep the worst effects of a possible fall resurgence in cases at bay. Moore has previously said he expects a rise in cases in the fall but Etches said she believes schools can remain open.

"Our way of handling exposure to COVID-19 in schools is changing because of vaccination. If you're vaccinated, even if you're exposed to somebody who is positive in the school environment, you won't have to go home to isolate for two weeks," she said. "I hope that can encourage people to head out this week, if you haven't already had your first dose or haven't had your second dose. You can walk in to any clinic."

Etches said Ottawa Public Health is also piloting a project that would allow someone who develops symptoms at school to return home with a take-home COVID-19 test if accessing testing is a challenge.

A full back-to-school plan from the provincial government is expected to be announced next week.

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Canadian Rosie MacLennan's Olympic reign ends with 4th-place finish in trampoline - CBC.ca

Trampolinist Rosie MacLennan has finished fourth in Tokyo, but will still go down as one of the sport's all-time greats.

The 32-year-old came to Tokyo looking to become the first Canadian athlete ever to win gold at three straight Olympics in an individual event. 

It was remarkable she was able to compete at all.

Nine weeks ago in training, MacLennan suffered a severely sprained ankle, according to CBC analyst Kyle Shewfelt, who won gymnastic gold at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

She tore two ligaments and partially tore another, putting her trip to Tokyo in doubt, Shewfelt reported. The injury had not been disclosed before Friday's competition.

Shewfelt said he promised MacLennan he wouldn't disclose the injury until after she made the final.

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MacLennan still managed to put on dazzling display of acrobatics, soaring to breathtaking heights that brought gasps from the small smatterings of team officials and guests inside of Tokyo's Ariake Gymnastics Centre.

China's Zhu Xueying (56.635 points) and Liu Lingling (56.350) took gold and silver, respectively, while Great Britain's Bryony Page (55.735) earned bronze.

MacLennan finished agonizingly close with 55.460 points.

Speaking to reporters earlier this week, MacLennan said she was focused on nailing her routine — not winning another medal.

"I mean, those are results in the past, and I'm really proud of what I was able to accomplish," she said. "I'm really grateful for the opportunity to represent Canada at my fourth Olympic Games. I want to just focus on the tangible things that can make my routine better."

Even before Tokyo, MacLennan was the only member of an exclusive club.

Thousands of Canadian athletes have competed at the Summer Olympics since Canada first began sending teams in 1904. But only one athlete — MacLennan — has been able to win a gold medal in two consecutive Games in the same individual event. (Rowers Marnie McBean and Kathleen Heddle won back-to-back gold medals in 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta, but in different events.)

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Affinity Place Has Ice Installed as Skating Season Nears - Discoverestevan.com - DiscoverEstevan.com

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Affinity Place Has Ice Installed as Skating Season Nears - Discoverestevan.com  DiscoverEstevan.com
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Provincial government set to make announcement about Toronto’s Ontario Place - Global News

The provincial government is set to make an announcement about Ontario Place amid reports multiple companies have been chosen to redevelop the site.

According to a statement issued Thursday afternoon, Premier Doug Ford, Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries Minister Lisa MacLeod and Toronto Mayor John Tory will be unveiling details at 10 a.m. on Friday. Senior bureaucrats were also scheduled to provide a briefing to reporters just ahead of the formal announcement.

Global News attempted to get more information about Friday’s announcement, but no further information was released Thursday evening.

However, a recent report by The Globe and Mail said three corporations, including a recreation firm from Quebec, won a bid process for control of the 155-acre site. Global News wasn’t able to independently confirm the details contained in the report.

Read more: Ford government looking for global partners to redevelop Ontario Place, casino off the table

Located south of Lake Shore Boulevard West and Exhibition Place, the iconic attraction site opened in 1971 but was shuttered in 2012 due to falling revenues at the amid tight provincial finances. At that time, the government said attendance fell to about 300,000 from a peak of around 2.5 million.

The Cinesphere was renovated in recent years and continues to operate year-round, showcasing films. Also, a 240-slip marina is open for use between May and October. More recently, the site has hosted festivals and drive-in events.

The Budweiser Stage, a 16,000-guest venue used for concerts, was also not subject to redevelopment and continues to be operated by Live Nation. Government officials previously said they intended to maintain three hectares of park land.

Trillium Park was opened at Ontario Place in 2017, five years after it had closed, and was connected to the city by the William G. Davis recreational trail, named after Ontario’s premier the year Ontario Place first opened.

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Various proposals have been floated since its closure, including a year-round waterpark with a retractable roof, a casino complex and hotel, as well as residential development.

The areas that the government is proposing to redevelop include the mainland, the islands, the pods and the Cinesphere.

Read more: Indigenous learning centre opens for summer at Ontario Place

Previous government parameters ruled out proposals for any residential uses, proposals that require operating grants or capital investments for planning, design or construction from the province, or any land sale. Amid lingering questions about what would be allowed, the Ford government also eliminated the option for a casino.

Former Toronto Police chief Mark Saunders was hired by the Ford government as a special adviser to provide “technical expertise and strategic advice,” but details surrounding the exact nature of his work weren’t shared.

A news release issued on behalf of MacLeod in March said Saunders would be “working closely with the City of Toronto and Indigenous communities as well as stakeholders and businesses involved in the redevelopment project.”

“Mr. Saunders’ intimate knowledge of the diverse communities in Toronto and across Ontario will bring important perspectives to the project, as well as a level of expertise that will help turn our vision for the site into a reality,” MacLeod said in the statement.

Read more: Former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders to be paid up to $171K per year as Ontario Place advisor

The release said Saunders “will be able to leverage his senior-level experience in a major organization, experience in large-scale transformation change management and in the execution of complex project management initiatives to effectively advise the premier and minister.”

According to information posted on the Ontario government’s website, Saunders was set to be paid $700 a day for a maximum of up to $171,500 a year in the part-time role. An order-in-council said Saunders was appointed on Feb. 25 and will serve until Feb. 24, 2024 at the latest.

Those with the grassroots organization Ontario Place for All called on the government to keep the site publicly accessible and to host public consultations before changes are made.

They also wanted the area’s Indigenous heritage acknowledged and the site to be integrated into Exhibition Place, as well as existing recreational infrastructure.

— with files from The Canadian Press

© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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COVID-19: Masks should remain in place heading into the fall, says Ottawa’s top doctor - Global News

Ottawa’s medical officer of health says mask mandates should remain in place through fall as COVID-19 vaccination rates continue to grow ahead of September’s anticipated return to school.

Dr. Vera Etches told reporters Thursday that masks are proving to be a “very useful tool” to prevent transmission in other countries such as the United Kingdom and Israel, where COVID-19 has resurged amid economic reopenings.

Ottawa does not have to face a fourth wave of the virus locally, she said, if appropriate public health measures remain in place as vaccination rates near the 90-per cent threshold she has set for “community immunity.”

Read more: Ottawa 2nd-dose vaccine coverage ticks up as 1st doses stall

So far in Ottawa, 83 per cent of eligible residents aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 70 per cent having gotten both shots.

But those rates still leave roughly 30 per cent of Ottawa’s total population without vaccine protection heading into the fall, including residents younger than 12 who are not yet eligible for a shot.

“That’s a large enough population to still have exponential growth,” Etches said.

“Vaccination alone won’t be enough to ward off a resurgence in the number of people testing positive. That’s why I think continuing to wear a mask will be key.”

3:38 CDC reinstates face mask recommendations amid U.S. surge in Delta variant cases

CDC reinstates face mask recommendations amid U.S. surge in Delta variant cases

Ottawa’s mask bylaw is expected to expire on Aug. 26, but a provincial mandate for masking indoors remains in place.

Read more: Israel OKs COVID-19 booster shot for seniors as Delta variant spreads

Etches said she has spoken with Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, to advocate for the provincial masking rules to continue past the current Step 3 of reopening.

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While she also said Thursday that distancing is also effective in settings where vaccination statuses aren’t known, she stopped short of saying whether she would recommend physical distancing measures stay in place for the months to come.

She said she will “monitor” viral levels post-Step 3 before she recommends distancing or other measures for the fall.

1:26 Ontario Premier Ford says most protocols likely ‘gone’ once province moves past Step 3

Ontario Premier Ford says most protocols likely ‘gone’ once province moves past Step 3

Even though vaccination rates have slowed in Ottawa as of late, Etches said she’s “very pleased” with the turnout for first and second shots.

Ottawa Public Health’s polling on vaccinations before the rollout began indicated that 82 per cent said they would get a vaccine right away, while 10 per cent said they weren’t sure and less than 10 per cent of respondents said they didn’t want one.

“Now we’re working through a group that wasn’t sure, so it does take more time to have those conversations with people,” Etches said of the slowing vaccination pace locally.

OPH is working on reducing barriers to accessing vaccines, with Etches citing childcare and transportation to clinics as continued obstacles for some residents getting vaccinated.

Read more: As Canada hits COVID-19 vaccine milestone, reducing barriers to access key, experts say

The city launched a new initiative last week to allow workplaces, faith congregations and other community groups to request a mobile vaccination team to come to their neighbourhood or office.

Etches said that the city has so far received more than 50 requests for mobile clinics.

She also said she expects a vaccination “push” at the end of August as families prepare for a return to school. One upside of being fully vaccinated is that children won’t have to go home and isolate if they’re exposed to a positive case at school, Etches said.

Meanwhile, OPH reported eight new cases of COVID-19 in the city on Thursday, raising the number of active cases locally to 51.

No new deaths related to the virus were added in the latest report.

OPH also says a second person is now in hospital with COVID-19 in Ottawa, though neither patients are currently in the intensive care unit.

2:12 No more masks on transit, isolation of positive COVID-19 cases come Aug. 16 in Alberta

No more masks on transit, isolation of positive COVID-19 cases come Aug. 16 in Alberta

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