{"id":113229,"date":"2026-09-10T19:09:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T19:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/opseu-sefpo-ford-is-cutting-science-unit-and-other-core-staff-jobs-at-ontario-science-centre\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T19:09:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T19:09:23","slug":"opseu-sefpo-ford-is-cutting-science-unit-and-other-core-staff-jobs-at-ontario-science-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/opseu-sefpo-ford-is-cutting-science-unit-and-other-core-staff-jobs-at-ontario-science-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"OPSEU\/SEFPO: Ford is cutting Science Unit and other core staff jobs at Ontario Science Centre"},"content":{"rendered":"

Toronto, Sept. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)<\/a> — OPSEU\/SEFPO is outraged by news that Premier Doug Ford\u2019s government intends to axe 30 roles at the Ontario Science Centre (OSC), which represents a cut of 18 per cent. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Staff were informed today that the current complement of 166 unionized employees will be reduced to 136 workers due to \u201corganizational changes\u201d including the elimination of the standalone Science Unit. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can you have an Ontario Science Centre with no Science Unit?\u201d said Raluca Ellis, President of OPSEU\/SEFPO Local 549, representing workers at the OSC. \u201cWith these job cuts, over 540 years of combined service would be eliminated.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Only one staff member affected by the cuts has been offered alternative permanent employment within the public service. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In September 2024, Ford promised that no one working at the Ontario Science Centre would be left jobless following its sudden closure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two years ago, the Ford government abruptly announced the shuttering\u00a0of the Ontario Science Centre at 770 Don Mills Road. The government\u00a0cited a potential issue with the roof during heavy snowfalls\u00a0that affected no more than six per cent of tiles and presented no immediate danger, according to engineers. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m tired of the lies from this premier,\u201d said OPSEU\/SEFPO President JP Hornick. \u201cHe lied to the public about the need to close the building and he lied to workers about protecting their jobs.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a painful irony to the fact that the Ontario Science Centre has been one of greatest victims of Ford\u2019s \u2018alternative\u2019 facts. The Ontario Science Centre exists to inspire a passion among children, families, and the general public for evidence-led discovery. Some of the people losing their jobs have been supporting this mission for over 35 years,\u201d added Hornick. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe roof of the Ontario Science Centre has withstood two winters and a recent heavy storm that caused serious damage to other structures such as the Rogers Stadium in North York. Ford\u2019s commitments to the people of Ontario have proven to be much more fragile,\u201d said Hornick. \u00a0<\/p>\n

After Ford\u2019s government ruled out immediate job losses in 2024, over 50 food service workers were laid off four days later, followed by 28 cleaning staff, and the departure of at least 34 directly employed staff whose roles have not been replaced. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ontario Science Centre staff have continued to deliver programming through smaller pop-up spaces at locations including Sherway Gardens, the Harbourfront Centre, and the CNE, as well as going directly into schools. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Construction on a new permanent location for the Ontario Science Centre began in May on the grounds of the former Ontario Place. The government has committed to keep the Harbourfront Centre site open until the expected completion in 2029. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDoug Ford needs to step in to fix this situation. If he wants to cosplay as Captain Canada in order to fight the threat of Trump\u2019s tariffs, he needs to start by honouring his word to protect jobs here in Ontario,\u201d said Hornick.<\/p>\n

CONTACT: Ryan Hayes\r\nOntario Public Service Employees Union \/ Syndicat des employ\u00e9s de la fonction publique de l'Ontario (OPSEU\/SEFPO)\r\n416-706-6632\r\nrhayes@opseu.org\r\n<\/pre>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Toronto, Sept. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OPSEU\/SEFPO is outraged by news that Premier Doug Ford\u2019s government intends to axe 30 roles at the Ontario Science Centre (OSC), which represents a cut of 18 per cent. \u00a0 Staff were informed today that the current complement of 166 unionized employees will be reduced to 136 workers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113230,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ml.globenewswire.com\/media\/OTI5Njk1NTYtMjdlMC00MjU5LTkwYTQtZTA1NDdjOGE2NjNiLTUwMDE0NzY5OC0yMDI2LTA5LTEwLWVu\/tiny\/Ontario-Public-Service-Employe.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[208],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-globenewswire"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t