Mall roof collapse injures at least 4 in N. Ontario
- Thread starter gerryh
- Start date
Yeah, I doubt if the engineers are responsible for making sure routine maintenance is carried out. If I was an engineer, I'd make sure right beside my signature was an expiry date.
Is anyone else noting a sudden interest in roof repairs that seemed evidently necessary a couple years ago? Locally one Building Supply store has decided that all the pails obstruct customer flow through the store aisles. 
Roof repairs were an ongoing thing. I suspect the problem had more to do with structure than just the roof - based on experiencing some rides on the bouncing escalator and on photos of rusted columns, shifting brickwork and cracked penthouse flooring. That place has been doomed for yearsIs anyone else noting a sudden interest in roof repairs that seemed evidently necessary a couple years ago? Locally one Building Supply store has decided that all the pails obstruct customer flow through the store aisles.
Rescue team veterans from Haiti and September 11 turned back from helping in Elliot Lake mall disaster
As police and firefighters from across Ontario streamed into the site of the Elliot Lake mall collapse this week, arguably one of the most hardened rescue groups on the scene — veterans of 9/11, the Haiti Earthquake and the Costa Concordia sinking — were never even allowed past the police tape.
“We’ve been on standby since arriving, and if you’re a results-oriented person, the worst thing in the world is to be on standby,” John Green, chief of Special Operations for Ottawa-based International Rescue, told the Post Wednesday.
The group, an Ottawa-based rescue non-profit, was summoned to Elliot Lake by a call from a private citizen. The roof on the Algo Centre Mall caved in at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday; by 2:55 p.m., an Elliot Lake resident (“He’d heard about what we’d done in Haiti,” Mr. Green said) got the organization on the phone.
About 40 hours later, Mr. Green — along with six team members — pulled into the small Northern Ontario town in a specially outfitted fire truck, hauling a trailer packed with lifts, supports, concrete-cutting chainsaws, liquid nitrogen, concrete-cracking explosives and thermite charges.
Of course, by then, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour had barred access to the unstable structure, and the Toronto-based Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team had just informed a crowd of locals that it had called off rescue efforts.
“At 11 p.m. [Monday], they just came out and said, ‘go home, we don’t want you on scene,’ which was a little bit of a kick,” Mr. Green said. “We’ve been to over 30 of these and we’ve never been told to go home.
more
Rescue team veterans from Haiti and September 11 turned back from helping in Elliot Lake mall disaster | News | National Post
As police and firefighters from across Ontario streamed into the site of the Elliot Lake mall collapse this week, arguably one of the most hardened rescue groups on the scene — veterans of 9/11, the Haiti Earthquake and the Costa Concordia sinking — were never even allowed past the police tape.
“We’ve been on standby since arriving, and if you’re a results-oriented person, the worst thing in the world is to be on standby,” John Green, chief of Special Operations for Ottawa-based International Rescue, told the Post Wednesday.
The group, an Ottawa-based rescue non-profit, was summoned to Elliot Lake by a call from a private citizen. The roof on the Algo Centre Mall caved in at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday; by 2:55 p.m., an Elliot Lake resident (“He’d heard about what we’d done in Haiti,” Mr. Green said) got the organization on the phone.
About 40 hours later, Mr. Green — along with six team members — pulled into the small Northern Ontario town in a specially outfitted fire truck, hauling a trailer packed with lifts, supports, concrete-cutting chainsaws, liquid nitrogen, concrete-cracking explosives and thermite charges.
Of course, by then, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour had barred access to the unstable structure, and the Toronto-based Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team had just informed a crowd of locals that it had called off rescue efforts.
“At 11 p.m. [Monday], they just came out and said, ‘go home, we don’t want you on scene,’ which was a little bit of a kick,” Mr. Green said. “We’ve been to over 30 of these and we’ve never been told to go home.
more
Rescue team veterans from Haiti and September 11 turned back from helping in Elliot Lake mall disaster | News | National Post
I find it so strange as I hear more and more about this goat rodeo.
I live out on the prairies, with many agricultural and industrial dealerships
close to my home. At work we rent mobile cranes often, and have wheel
loaders and a track-hoe and a bulldozer in the yard much of the time that
we can just go fire up when needed.
Hell, out here, most Farmers (or their neighbours) have the equipment
sitting in their quansets to drag an escalator out of a hole....and down
in the patch where I work, heavy equipment sits all over the place
whe not in use, and most people (many in most crowds) know how
to use them. Different worlds I guess.
I live out on the prairies, with many agricultural and industrial dealerships
close to my home. At work we rent mobile cranes often, and have wheel
loaders and a track-hoe and a bulldozer in the yard much of the time that
we can just go fire up when needed.
Hell, out here, most Farmers (or their neighbours) have the equipment
sitting in their quansets to drag an escalator out of a hole....and down
in the patch where I work, heavy equipment sits all over the place
whe not in use, and most people (many in most crowds) know how
to use them. Different worlds I guess.
Word is, the last inspection was conducted by an unqualified engineer
Last Elliot Lake mall safety inspection had errors: lawyer | CTVNews
Last Elliot Lake mall safety inspection had errors: lawyer | CTVNews
$10M settlement reached for victims of Elliot Lake mall collapse
Rooftop parking lot of Algo Centre Mall caved in on June 23, 2012, killing two women and injuring 19 others
Author of the article:Spiro Papuckoski
Published Apr 11, 2026 • Last updated 13 hours ago • 2 minute read
The Algo Centre Mall roof collapsed in Elliot Lake, Ont., June 23, 2012.
The Algo Centre Mall roof collapsed in Elliot Lake, Ont., June 23, 2012. Photo by Files /Postmedia Network
A $10-million lawsuit settlement will be approved by an Ontario judge nearly 14 years after the roof of an Elliot Lake mall collapsed killing two women and injuring 19 others.
On Friday, Justice Benjamin Glustien listened to a presentation by all parties and said he is moving forward with the agreement.
“I will be approving the settlement,” the judge said during the hearing, according to BayToday.ca. “No matter what we do here, it’s never going to change the day that happened. But at least it can do something towards fairness and towards closure for people who were involved.”
Roof leaking for years before collapse
The rooftop parking lot of the Algo Centre Mall collapsed on June 23, 2012, killing Lucie Aylwin, 37, and Delores Perizzolo, 74. The roof had been leaking into the shopping centre for years.
“We know that the roof leaked from the day it was built and yet nobody fixed it,” a lawyer representing the victim’s families told the Sudbury Star in 2013.
A canine unit from Heavy Urban Search and Rescue at the scene of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake on Tuesday, June 26, 2012.
A canine unit from Heavy Urban Search and Rescue at the scene of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. Photo by John Lappa / Files /Postmedia Network
In early March, the families of Aylwin and Perizzolo as well as other victims who were seeking damages were informed that a proposed settlement had been reached, contingent on a judge’s approval.
“The settlement agreement was reached in the context of multi-year settlement mediation sessions (that were conducted first by a retired judge from the Court of Appeal and more recently by the former Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal), and after various court hearings and decisions, the exchange of relevant documents by the parties, the plaintiffs completed any examinations for discovery of the Defendants, and the scheduling of a summary judgment motion for last fall,” Toronto law firm Roy O’Connor LLP said in the update.
The civil case, known as Quinte vs Eastwood Mall et al, was launched shortly after the disaster and was certified two years later. The plaintiffs had initially asked for $30 million in damages.
Damages spread out among defendants
The City of Elliot Lake is on the hook for $3.5 million while Algoma Central Properties, a subsidiary of Algoma Central Corporation, which built the mall in 1979, will pay $2 million.
In addition, Eastwood Mall Inc. and its president Bob Nazarian, which owned the mall in 2012, is responsible for $1.745 million. The company that owned the mall between 1997 and 2005, Retirement Living and its for-profit arm NorDev, will each pay $1 million.
The engineering firm that inspected the mall two months before the roof collapsed will pay $730,000 while the province of Ontario will write a cheque for $400,000.
Also, the company that provided the hollow core slabs for the rooftop parking deck will pay $225,000 and the original architect on the project, James Keywan, is responsible for $175,000.
None of the defendants have admitted liability under the settlement’s terms.
The mall was closed following the collapse and later demolished.
thesudburystar.com
baytoday.ca
torontosun.com
Rooftop parking lot of Algo Centre Mall caved in on June 23, 2012, killing two women and injuring 19 others
Author of the article:Spiro Papuckoski
Published Apr 11, 2026 • Last updated 13 hours ago • 2 minute read
The Algo Centre Mall roof collapsed in Elliot Lake, Ont., June 23, 2012.
The Algo Centre Mall roof collapsed in Elliot Lake, Ont., June 23, 2012. Photo by Files /Postmedia Network
A $10-million lawsuit settlement will be approved by an Ontario judge nearly 14 years after the roof of an Elliot Lake mall collapsed killing two women and injuring 19 others.
On Friday, Justice Benjamin Glustien listened to a presentation by all parties and said he is moving forward with the agreement.
“I will be approving the settlement,” the judge said during the hearing, according to BayToday.ca. “No matter what we do here, it’s never going to change the day that happened. But at least it can do something towards fairness and towards closure for people who were involved.”
Roof leaking for years before collapse
The rooftop parking lot of the Algo Centre Mall collapsed on June 23, 2012, killing Lucie Aylwin, 37, and Delores Perizzolo, 74. The roof had been leaking into the shopping centre for years.
“We know that the roof leaked from the day it was built and yet nobody fixed it,” a lawyer representing the victim’s families told the Sudbury Star in 2013.
A canine unit from Heavy Urban Search and Rescue at the scene of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake on Tuesday, June 26, 2012.
A canine unit from Heavy Urban Search and Rescue at the scene of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. Photo by John Lappa / Files /Postmedia Network
In early March, the families of Aylwin and Perizzolo as well as other victims who were seeking damages were informed that a proposed settlement had been reached, contingent on a judge’s approval.
“The settlement agreement was reached in the context of multi-year settlement mediation sessions (that were conducted first by a retired judge from the Court of Appeal and more recently by the former Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal), and after various court hearings and decisions, the exchange of relevant documents by the parties, the plaintiffs completed any examinations for discovery of the Defendants, and the scheduling of a summary judgment motion for last fall,” Toronto law firm Roy O’Connor LLP said in the update.
The civil case, known as Quinte vs Eastwood Mall et al, was launched shortly after the disaster and was certified two years later. The plaintiffs had initially asked for $30 million in damages.
Damages spread out among defendants
The City of Elliot Lake is on the hook for $3.5 million while Algoma Central Properties, a subsidiary of Algoma Central Corporation, which built the mall in 1979, will pay $2 million.
In addition, Eastwood Mall Inc. and its president Bob Nazarian, which owned the mall in 2012, is responsible for $1.745 million. The company that owned the mall between 1997 and 2005, Retirement Living and its for-profit arm NorDev, will each pay $1 million.
The engineering firm that inspected the mall two months before the roof collapsed will pay $730,000 while the province of Ontario will write a cheque for $400,000.
Also, the company that provided the hollow core slabs for the rooftop parking deck will pay $225,000 and the original architect on the project, James Keywan, is responsible for $175,000.
None of the defendants have admitted liability under the settlement’s terms.
The mall was closed following the collapse and later demolished.
Elliot Lake Algo Centre Mall Collapse Class Action Roy O'Connor Toronto
Roy O'Connor together with other co-counsel are pursuing a class proceeding on behalf of individuals who were injured or had property damaged in the Elliot Lake mall colapse, the action has been certified.
royoconnor.ca
$10M settlement proposed in Elliot Lake mall lawsuit
Two people were killed when rooftop parking collapsed in 2012
‘Very long journey’: Settlement approved in $10M mall collapse lawsuit
Total amount of class-action funds available to victims of Elliot Lake tragedy will be closer to $6 million after legal fees, disbursements and other administrative costs
baytoday.ca
$10M settlement reached for victims of Elliot Lake mall collapse
A $10-million settlement will be approved by an Ontario judge nearly 14 years after the roof of an Elliot Lake mall collapsed. Read more.