Your opinions matter: York Centre eyed as future site for Forensic Services and Office of the Chief Coroner

Recently I met with York Centre MPP Monte Kwinter to discuss the province's plans to locate Ontario's forensic services and Office of the Chief Coroner in Ward 5 (York Centre). It would be constructed on government owned land near Wilson Avenue and Keele Street. Your opinion is valued on this important decision. The public is welcome to visit an information trailor located at 1201 Wilson Avenue on Monday January 12 and Tuesday January 13 from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

Here is some additional information from the ministry.

Ontario is seeking public input on the location of a new state-of-the-art
Forensic Services and Coroner's Complex.
The proposed site is a six-acre parcel of government-owned land in
Downsview at Wilson Avenue and Keele Street. It would house the Centre of
Forensic Sciences, the Office of the Chief Coroner and the Provincial Forensic
Pathology Unit. It will have the advanced technology necessary to support
growing needs and keep pace with the demands of the justice sector.
Over the next few weeks, details of the consultation and information
sessions will be communicated to area residents by mail and in local newspaper
advertisements. Information will also be posted on the ministry's website.
The proposed site will be subject to an environmental assessment study,
available for comment in January 2009. If approved, the new Forensic Services
and Coroner's Complex could be ready for occupancy in late 2012.

"We need to invest in new facilities and technology to improve
crime-solving and autopsy capabilities to keep pace with the increasingly
complex demands of the justice sector," said Minister of Community Safety and
Correctional Services Rick Bartolucci.

"The proposed Forensic Services and Coroner's Complex is an excellent use
of existing government lands and will bring construction and highly-skilled
jobs to this area," said York Centre MPP Monte Kwinter.

QUICK FACTS


- Moving this project forward supports the Goudge Report
recommendations for a new, modern facility to house the Office of the
Chief Coroner and related forensic sciences.
- The Centre of Forensic Sciences investigated more than 10,000 cases
last year involving injury or death in unusual circumstances and
crimes against persons or property.
- The Office of the Chief Coroner conducts 20,000 forensic death
investigations every year, more than one-third originating in the
Greater Toronto Area.