The Canadian Air and Space Museum at Downsview Park was shut down Tuesday, Sept. 20 after falling behind in rent payments.
The locks have been changed at the Sheppard Avenue and Keele Street site and an eviction notice has been served, said the volunteer chair of the museum, Ian McDougall. McDougall said the charity has a backlog of $120,000 and was finally able to pay the monthly rent of $18,000 two months ago."Thousands upon thousands of people visit our site annually," he told The Mirror, adding he didn't know how long the museum has been in financial distress. McDougall said the museum was being kicked out to make way for a four-pad ice rink at the Carl Hall Road site, set to open in September 2013. "I know we have a problem in this country with a lack of hockey rinks," he said sarcastically.He said a cheque was given to Downsview Park Monday, Sept. 12 and returned two days later with a notice of eviction letter.McDougall said Downsview Park assured him the museum wouldn't be evicted but received a call Tuesday indicating otherwise. McDougall said it would be unlikely the museum, which has called Downsview Park home since 1997, would find a new location and this essentially signals the end of the organization. The Canadian Air and Space Museum, formerly the Toronto Aerospace Museum, was housed in the original 1929 home of the de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. and also the original home of Canada's leading space technology company best known as SPAR, according to the museum's website. It also housed several artifacts and planes, including a replica Avro Arrow."I am deeply disappointed at the news of Downsview Park's callous eviction of the Canadian Air and Space Museum which holds some of the best examples of Canadian ingenuity and aerospace history," York Centre Councillor Maria Augimeri said in a release. "It shows that the federal government is so fixated on the bottom line it's even willing to throw the Avro Arrow to the curb for collection...the Canadian Air and Space Museum has been a wonderful community partner and friend for over a decade and I am distressed at the prospect that our community will no longer be blessed with its presence."Calls seeking comment from Downsview Park and board chair David Soknacki were not returned by The Mirror's deadline.