Doug Ford's Ontario PC government is hellbent on pressing on with its controversial redevelopment of Ontario Place, and the premier looks to be getting his way after a sweeping new deal was struck with the City of Toronto in November.

That deal may have proven the death knell for community groups intent on fighting the project, though grassroots organization Ontario Place For All is refusing to back down on its resistance to the project.

After filing an injunction to stop the project, the organization has fired off another salvo at the contentious redevelopment, yet again taking aim at the province's deal with Therme to build a private mega spa on the public Ontario Place lands.

Ontario Place For All calls out the province's plan to invest a staggering $650 million in infrastructure investments to prep the site for the Therme spa, most notably with a 2,000-space underground parking garage.

Ford has been quoted as saying that Therme will foot most of this bill, and reassured the taxpayers he ran on a platform of respecting that "There's no public money in this deal." However, much about the deal has not been publicly disclosed, and Ontario Place For All seems unconvinced that private funding will carry the project alone.

Regardless of who is footing the bill, the colossal price tag has Ontario Place For All wondering about all the ways those funds could have been used to benefit more people, rather than a spa that will cater largely to big spenders.

3,250 affordable housing units

An affordable housing crisis in Ontario requires all levels of government to dig deep, and the province's own Housing Action Plan targets 1.5 million new homes by 2031. Ontario, for whatever reasons, has instead opted to build a private spa versus the 3,250 affordable homes $650 million could buy.

7,000 nurses

Ontario is facing a pressing shortage of healthcare workers following cuts and burnout from years of pandemic service. The $650 million earmarked for the Ontario Place project could fund one year of pay for 7,000 nurses.

800 long-term care beds

Long-term care is another aspect of the healthcare system under tremendous burden. Ford has promised his government will construct 30,000 long-term care beds by 2028 as the province grapples with a rapidly-increasing population of persons aged 85 and older, doubling since 2001 to 861k in 2021.

Emmy Egulu, Ontario Place for All Steering Committee member, expressed concern over the government's "clear indication of where its priorities lie – and sadly, it's not with the everyday needs of Ontarians" in a prepared statement issued on Tuesday.

"The Government is setting a dangerous precedent that will impact communities across the province, allowing private companies to take control of public assets through backroom deals and get massive subsidies from our tax dollars," said Egulu.