The provincial government and private stakeholders may have wanted to conceal what's happening at Ontario Place with the solid wooden wall they built around the public green space last year, but the destruction of the property has now become too much to hide.

New photos and videos from Thursday show the extent to which the formerly lush site has been levelled for the creation of the Therme spa and its associated parking garage, with residents left shocked and dismayed as they watched the demolition of hundreds of mature, healthy trees take place before their very eyes.

Trees are being cut at Ontario Place as we speak
byu/nayonaiser intoronto

Advocacy group Ontario Place For All is among those who began frantically getting the word out that crews were ripping down all signs of life along the waterfront, which started under the cover of darkness.

The sounds of chainsaws and towering, decades-old trees crackling and falling echoed out over the lake as people filmed and bore witness from the mainland, calling the whole thing "sickening."

As some pointed out, the environmentally sensitive habitat for numerous species likely would have been protected under Ontario law had Premier Doug Ford not given the Ontario Place revitalization — and all similar private projects — an exemption from the environmental assessments that are typically a prerequisite for such extensive construction

Trees are coming down at Ontario Place. This is absolutely shameful & a crime against future generations.

This is a forest & public parkland in downtown Toronto being destroyed for a private mega spa.

This destruction is being subsidized with $1.5 billion tax dollars.#ONpoli pic.twitter.com/Li1Ok8nd74

— Chris Glover (@chrisgloverndp) October 3, 2024

"This was a forest in downtown Toronto with 190 bird species, with all kinds of wildlife. It was an opportunity... it was parkland for the people of Ontario," Spadina–Fort York MPP Chris Glover said in a clip posted to X.

"It's being devastated to build an Austrian mega-spa, and we the taxpayers are actually paying for this devastation and handing this megaspa $1.5 billion of our tax dollars. It's an absolutely shameful act that is happening right here at Ontario Place."

A perfect symbol for what Ford's doing to the province ... and to us.

— hmilne (@HMilne57) October 4, 2024

A map from TMU architectural science professor Dr. Helen Stopps, created yesterday, gives an aerial perspective of just how much the landscape has changed for the worse from just a few months ago, with stops emphasizing "the devastating impact of the removal of over 850 mature trees."

"These trees, essential for local wildlife habitats and the mental and physical well-being of residents, have been cleared due to political decisions prioritizing profit over community health and environmental sustainability," Stopps writes alongside the damning images.

Today I went down to document and bear witness to the destruction of the West Island. Earlier in the summer, I used my drone to create a 3D map of it's beauty.
I am sharing a link which shows the before and after of this special place. https://t.co/Q9xyJevVg2

— Helen Stopps, PhD (@HelenStopps) October 3, 2024

The eradication of the greenery coincides with the emergence of new details regarding Ford's deal with Therme's executives, including information about the province's obligation to provide a minimum of 1,600 parking spots as part of the 95-year lease with the foreign firm.

The government plans to plop an even greater 2,500 spaces on the site, using the relocation of the Ontario Science Centre to the property — which architects insist did not need to be moved from its current landmark in Flemingdon Park — as an excuse.