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By: Lloyd Brown-John
Once I eased past wanting to be a train engineer — shattering my grandfather’s dream of my becoming a coastal tugboat man — I moved on to science.
Specifically, I wanted to be a geologist and was permitted to take geology at high school in lieu of biology. I entered university headed for the science of rocks.
However, involvement in provincial politics changed my gears. I discovered political science. Regrettably, over many years I have concluded there really isn’t much science to politics other than opinion poll mining.
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Indeed, one of my physicist colleagues regularly reminds me that if you have to append the word “science” to your discipline you are probably not a real science anyway. Personally, I believe he is correct. As a grad student at the University of Toronto it was great being in a “political economy” department.
Politics and economics are like con-joined twins, with some economists also believing they indulge in “science.” History records empires constructed to expand commerce, supported by eager imperialist politicians.
South Africa’s Boer War (1899-1902) was ostensibly triggered by British subjects deprived of voting rights in independent Boer republics. In practice, the savage war was about gold and diamond mines.
Politics and economics — intimately linked, but neither should be taken seriously as sciences.
Science and politics again merged into conflict as our urban bumpkin premier announced the sudden closing of one of the province’s most iconic structures, the Ontario Science Centre.
Despite its core relevance in society, science does not appear to be of great significance to many politicians. Locally, a very distinguished University of Windsor physicist, William Baylis, has struggled for years to keep Windsor’s Canada South Science City alive.
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The City of Windsor seems more intent upon a fancy outdoor hockey rink than seeking to support the immense long-term value of learning through experiential science for young people. Tucked away in west Windsor, what was once a glimmer of a science museum is now listed as “temporarily closed.”
Meanwhile, under the pretext that the roof may falling in — remember Chicken Little’s sky is falling? — the Ford government decided Ontario’s Science Centre had a roof problem of such magnitude that the spectacular building had to be closed immediately.
We should be suspicious of linkages between government employees and consulting firms. Senior public servants learn very quickly that if they wish to achieve a preferred outcome then they must convince elected politicians that there is a need for a “consultant.”
Usually, as substantial fees are available, consultants will massage their contracted message. ‘What would be a preferred outcome for your department?’ Many consultants then design a tailored report for that public servant client.
Then, elected politicians can be led to a preferred public servant outcome by the latter wielding a consultant’s report.
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Municipal governments are especially addicted to consultants. I’ve been there and done that.
Closure of Ontario’s Science Centre has been premised upon an engineering report Ford’s government commissioned from Rimkus Consulting Group. Apparently, the 55-year-old roof could give way to snow and collapse.
Meanwhile, a forensic engineer with KSI Engineering, a firm that examines structures that have failed, suggested to CBC News (June 28) that closing the centre could have been avoided. The building safety concerns are related to a very small area of roof.
That decision follows the government’s release in May of an enhanced Minister’s Zoning Order providing development permission for new land uses at Ontario Place.
Ontario Science Centre was designed by one of Canada’s most outstanding architects, the late Raymond Moriyama. It is a magnificent structure with wondrous displays and activities.
Can it survive the Ford onslaught?
Probably not, as former Ontario Place morphs into an expensive spa and indoor water park with a science museum appended.
Lloyd Brown-John is a University of Windsor professor emeritus of political science and director of Canterbury ElderCollege. He can be reached at lbj@uwindsor.ca.
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