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75-492: The mall was plagued by structural problems and leaks throughout its history. It underwent a partial structural failure on June 23, 2012, when a 12m x 24m (39'-by-79') segment of the rooftop parking deck collapsed into the building, crashing through the upper level lottery kiosk adjacent to the food court and escalators to the ground floor below. Two people died in the collapse and more than 20 people received non-life-threatening injuries. An investigation and class action lawsuits into

150-548: A Freedom of Information request for documents on June 29, but was refused; an employee came out from the back of the offices, and turned the City Clerk 's chair around, so that they couldn't respond. City officials then called the OPP. After the request, the city issued a two line statement that documents are now part of investigations. OPP noted that the documents are still available through Freedom of Information requests, and that

225-525: A 12m x 24m (39'-by-79') segment of the parking deck/roof collapsed at the Algo Centre Mall, sending metal and concrete debris crashing down through two floors of the shopping centre resulting in the deaths of two people and injuring more than 20 people. Soon after the collapse, the owners arrived at the mall. A representative spoke on behalf of the owner, stating "I'd rather not [comment], because we have talked to our lawyers and we're going to be in

300-536: A committee to help retailers from the building; at one meeting, Premier McGuinty assured that they'd remove rigid program requirements for assistance programs. The East Algoma Community Futures Development Corporation approved interest free "transitional loans" of up to $ 25,000 for affected businesses. TD Bank 's local branch contributed $ 10,000 to the Elliot Lake Food Bank. Foodland announced it will rebuild, and pay employees up to six months wages during

375-648: A continuance of the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, as well as signing a memorandum of understanding with the Missanabie Cree First Nation regarding a potential partnership. On April 20, the Missanabie Cree First Nation, N1 Strategy Inc. and The Machine Shop also signed a memorandum of understanding around logistics and operations of a resurrected tourist train. In the 1960s, the railway began to promote

450-459: A full-time job with Collège Boréal , a French language college, as an employment consultant and recruiter in the college's 'Employment Options Emploi' office, located elsewhere in the Algo Centre Mall. Doloris Perizzolo, 74, was a widow and mother believed to be opening pull-tab lottery tickets, which must be opened in view of the booth operator. After the bodies of the two victims were retrieved, and HUSAR confirmed no other victims were trapped in

525-410: A membrane created by Carlisle Syntec Systems. Taking issue with the $ 1-million cost, Nazarian cancelled the project, hiring Peak Restoration; only a fraction of Peak's $ 823,657 worth of work was paid for, and the lien expired in 2010. The mall manager left soon after, in summer 2008, suggesting that he believes mall maintenance staff were set to repair the roof. In spite of the issues, the mall would use

600-542: A report commissioned by the Town, Downtown Core and Industrial Area Improvements , presented a less-than-favourable assessment of the structure's exterior: A very significant building within the downtown core is formed by the Algo Mall/Algo Inn. Situated above Ontario Avenue and fronted by parking lots, this large building is clad mostly in brown prefinished metal siding. The entrances are remote and do not address

675-672: A review of both HUSAR and Emergency Management Ontario . The collapse focused attention on the Harper government's cancellation of the Joint Emergency Preparedness Program , which provides funds to Canada's five HUSAR teams. The province and the National Fire Protection Association denounced the cuts. The Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness suggested that such cuts would necessitate Canada asking for assistance from

750-693: A separate subsidiary , Wisconsin Central Canada Holdings. In 1998, Algoma Steel closed its iron ore mine in Wawa and the branch line between Michipicoten Harbour and Hawk Junction was abandoned. Wisconsin Central Ltd. was acquired by Canadian National on October 9, 2001, whereupon the Algoma Central became part of CN's Eastern Division. In January 2014, CN announced it was cutting the service from Sault Ste. Marie to Hearst, blaming

825-409: A working group attempting to save the line hired BDO Canada LLP , an accounting firm, to assess the financial impact to the region when the service is scheduled to end April 29. The working group, composed of municipalities, first nations, and cottager associations, all had a vested interest in the continuation of the service. According to preliminary findings, BDO determined passenger rail service in

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900-400: Is near to the eventual mall roof collapse. Mall owners continued repair and maintenance work in 2012, spending $ 120,000 into repairs within the 12-month period leading up to June 2012. An engineering and structural study "turned up nothing", according to the mall manager. Even after the repair, there were photos of serious interior damage to the mall's roof. A local plumber that had done work for

975-571: Is well known for its Agawa Canyon tour train. Until 2015, the line also provided passenger train service to canoeists, snowmobilers, cottagers and tourists accessing this wilderness recreation region. The railway connects at its northernmost point with the Ontario Northland Railway and with CN's eastern division to the south. It also intersects with the Canadian Pacific Kansas City at Franz and with

1050-598: The Canadian Northern Railway (at Oba ). In 1914, it finally reached Hearst, a town 476 km (296 mi) north of Sault Ste. Marie that was a divisional point on the National Transcontinental Railway . By that point, Clergue's dream of building a railway to Hudson Bay or James Bay had long been abandoned, and the railway's northern terminus remained at Hearst, around 240 km (150 mi) from James Bay. However,

1125-477: The Canadian federal government for cutting a subsidy necessary to keep the service running. The passenger service, which runs three days per week, provides year-round access to remote tourist camps and resorts. The average annual ridership is estimated to be 10,600 passengers. It has been argued in the past as an essential service ; however, the service has always been deemed financially uneconomic. In February,

1200-704: The Huron Central Railway at its southernmost point in the Sault. The Algoma Central Railway was first owned by Francis H. Clergue , who required a railway to haul resources from the interior of the Algoma District to Clergue's industries in Sault Ste. Marie; specifically, to transport logs to his pulp mill and iron ore from the Helen Mine, near Wawa , to a proposed steel mill (which

1275-417: The hollow-core slabs (HCS) which prevented the installation of effective waterproofing later on. John Kadlec of Beta Engineering originally planned the use of 8-inch HCS, which he specified could withstand 120 pounds per square foot, a load which exceeded specifications on all 8-inch HCS. During the bidding process, the owners were advised by a bidder, Precon , that the specified load could not be handled by

1350-489: The Algoma district generates between $ 38 million and $ 48 million in annual economic activity. It supports as many as 220 jobs and delivers more than $ 5 million in tax revenues. In April 2014, the federal government extended funding for one year so that CN would continue to provide the passenger service. The $ 2.2-million subsidy was to facilitate the provision of service until 2015. In March 2015, Railmark Canada Ltd assumed

1425-688: The City Hall to represent ourselves. But nevertheless, we are very much concerned [about] this accident." By approximately 4:00 pm, local authorities alerted the Commissioner of Community Safety, Dan Hefkey. Hefkey called the Toronto-based Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (HUSAR) at 9 pm. The HUSAR crew, after assembling their equipment and travelling the 540 kilometres from Toronto, arrived by 4:25 am Sunday, June 24, and immediately began work. After initial assessments,

1500-487: The HCS without reinforcements from a composite concrete topping. However, Kadlec advised the owners that the plans called for 8-inch HCS which could withstand the load without reinforcement from topping. The contract was thus awarded to Coreslab , despite Coreslab's design tables indicating that the specified project loads were 38% higher than the maximum load. In 1992, over a decade after the mall's construction, Coreslab retracted

1575-473: The HUSAR team felt they had the proper equipment for the mission. In the early hours of Monday morning, June 25 – and despite discovering signs of life – rescue work was suspended due to the danger of additional concrete falling on the potential survivors and the HUSAR rescuers. Following the announcement, numerous residents of the town began to sign a list volunteering to enter the structure themselves to continue

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1650-635: The United States in similar situations. Also cancelled by the Conservative federal government was the Canadian Emergency Management College , established in 1954 to train first responders . A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews deflected criticism of the cuts, noting that 90 per cent of emergencies are managed municipally or provincially. Global News reporter Jennifer Tryon attempted to file

1725-772: The Wisconsin Central system. In December 2021, the sale of the former Algoma Central lines along with CN trackage in Wisconsin and Michigan was approved by the Surface Transportation Board. In March 2021, Watco announced that it would acquire the Algoma Central from Canadian National, along with the Wisconsin lines, sale of the latter being subject to final approval by the United States Surface Transportation Board . Simultaneously, Watco committed to

1800-893: The award-winning documentary film Painted Land: in Search of the Group of Seven which was shot along the rail corridor. In 2016 the Moments of Algoma project was launched by the Algoma Kinniwabi Travel Association, inviting tourists to follow the Group of Seven's travels, experiences and expressions of the region. The driving tour begins in Bruce Mines and follows the shoreline of Lake Huron and Lake Superior as far as Nipigon. Rail passengers will find more interpretive Installations in Agawa Canyon and at

1875-432: The building's condition. Speakers at the inquiry have also testified that a significant volume of city traffic regularly cut across the roof deck as a bypass of the traffic lights at the corner of Hillside Drive and Ontario Avenue, resulting in more stress on the structure than it had been designed to handle. The NORR report speculated that a heavy vehicle might have contributed to a previously undetected partial failure of

1950-475: The building's original architect, testified that he also strongly objected to the rooftop parking, but had little choice once Algocen made their decision to proceed with that plan. The son of the mall's owner admitted that the company had pressured engineers to remove information on leaks and corrosion from a report and that fictional repair invoices from a shell company, Empire Roofing and Restoration, were used to mislead mortgage holder Royal Bank of Canada about

2025-504: The centre's issues, it remained a community hub; the mayor notes that it was the social centre of the community, and residents would visit weekly, and in some cases daily. By 1990, the mall was already regularly plagued with leaks and water damage. The Elliot Lake Standard reported in 2008 on "greater than normal" leaks causing damages to multiple units. Starlight Cafe closed permanently, despite being profitable soon after opening, as customers would occasionally need umbrellas to stand at

2100-612: The chain's structural improvements to the building—including upgrades to the lighting system and improvements to the building's accessibility for people with disabilities—remaining in place as a donation to the city. The public library branch and some government offices that had been located at the mall were temporarily relocated to the former White Mountain Academy of the Arts . The library moved to Pearson Plaza, and Service Canada relocated to Kilborn Way and Highway 108. The province ordered

2175-474: The claim to be able to support the load without the use of a composite topping. Two different waterproofing systems were proposed to the owner by Harry S. Peterson Co. The first system called for a rubberized asphalt membrane to be applied over the non-composite concrete topping, while the second one called for no membrane, and simply controlling leaks with a polyurethane sealant. The second system reduced initial building costs by $ 136,000. HSP argued strongly for

2250-462: The collapse and rescue demolition of the mall. Further concerns were raised about non-fungible items trapped in the debris; John Pomerleau, the owner of Alternative Funeral Service which is located in the Algo Centre Mall stated that more than 30 cremation urns were still trapped in the mall and it was unknown if or when they could be recovered. Local area MPP Michael Mantha raised concerns that confidential records must be extracted, such as those from

2325-427: The collapse are ongoing and the mall has been demolished. The city of Elliot Lake purchased the vacant former Algo Centre Mall site in 2019, as the first stage in redeveloping the land for new residential and commercial uses. Part of the site will be retained by the city as a municipal "community hub" project, while the rest of it will be sold back to residential and commercial developers. Algocen Realty Holdings Ltd.,

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2400-512: The company in August 2005 for the price of $ 6.2 million. This firm, owned by Bob Nazarian, was registered in 1994 as a numbered company . At various points, the company has owned strip malls in Kitchener and London, Ontario . Algo had retained Marino Locations Limited to redevelop the property "to accommodate new specialty retailers and possible new anchor/big-box retailers that are not yet in

2475-458: The hotel lounge. The problem was very obvious to residents of the town. During the press conference announcing the class-action lawsuit, a resident suggested that some residents had placed "bets" on when the building would collapse. Ontario's Ministry of Labour visited the mall six times in the three years before the collapse. Pinchin Ltd. issued an "unequivocal" report attesting to the soundness of

2550-512: The landfill site, although it is unknown if anyone else entered the landfill site after hours while the demolition was progressing. Algoma Central Railway The Algoma Central Railway ( reporting mark AC ) is a railway in Northern Ontario , Canada, that operates between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst . It used to have a branch line to Wawa . The area served by the railway is sparsely populated, with few roads. The railway

2625-424: The leaking was said to be corrected, before council considered the issue, and an environmental study was completed. Some library board members and councillors worried that liability insurance wouldn't cover them in the mall, despite reassurances by library management and the city's insurance broker. With a multi-use complex in the works, some of the library board was concerned with a five-year lease that mall management

2700-567: The line reached 90 km (56 mi) north of Sault Ste. Marie, with a 32 km (20 mi) segment running east from Michipicoten Harbour that did not yet connect with the main line. Construction was stopped, but it was subsequently resumed in 1909 and the line was extended northward through to junctions with the Michipicoten Harbour branch (at Hawk Junction ), the Canadian Pacific Railway (at Franz ) and

2775-521: The longest passenger trains in North America, often up to 20 to 24 cars long. During the 1970s and 1980s, around 100,000 people per year visited Agawa Canyon. The Agawa Canyon Tour Train has continued to operate as a separate entity since 2015. The 2020 season of the Agawa Canyon tour train was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic . During 2023 the tour train runs from early August to mid-October. In 2015, White Pine Pictures released

2850-570: The mall featured Woolco , Dominion , and Shoppers Drug Mart , and a total of 35 units. A distinctive architectural feature of the building was rooftop parking. After the closure of the uranium mines in Elliot Lake, in 1990, the revenue prospects of the mall dropped sharply, with no recovery in sight. This prompted the Algoma Central Company to write off over $ 5 million in lost property value, despite 98% occupancy. In 1996,

2925-574: The mall or hotel. The nearest significant cities to Elliot Lake are Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie , both over 100 kilometres away by road; residents were said to be fielding requests from others for essentials like clothing, not readily available without the mall. Apart from the mall's Foodland store, there is only one other grocery store, Lyle's No Frills , in the city; that store and a nearby video store quickly made efforts to expand their merchandise selections to include some clothing items. The Elliot Lake & District Chamber of Commerce has established

3000-403: The mall suggested there was obvious signs of water damage, eight months before the collapse. In March 2012, the mall management pleaded guilty in provincial court, after their fire alarms and sprinklers did not meet code. The mall spent $ 50,000 to upgrade the infrastructure to avoid further fines. The process included adding a new roof to the hotel, gutting the second and third floors, including

3075-501: The mall, more than doubling the 7,000 feet (2,100 m) unit it had at Algo. The mall was offered for sale in 2010, for $ 9.9 million, an increase of $ 3.7 million from the purchase price five years prior. In 2011, the hotel office was victim of a break-and-enter, with an attempt to do the same at Zellers. The mall hosted car shows, charity head shavings, antique appraisals, promotions for community events, an annual rocking chair marathon for charity, amongst other community events. Despite

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3150-450: The market. The possibility for exterior pads also exists on the surrounding lands." (Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. also performed a redevelopment feasibility study on the mall in late 2010, early 2011; part of the cost was not repaid.) Between August 2005 and June 2012, the mall had a series of five managers. Zellers received $ 1 million from the City of Elliot Lake to open. At some point in

3225-581: The natural beauty of the District of Algoma to tourists , especially the Agawa Canyon , a canyon carved by the Agawa River , located 114 rail miles (183 km) north of Sault Ste. Marie, and not accessible by road. The Algoma Central developed a tourist stopover here and it proved to be a great success for the railway. Owing to the popularity of the Agawa Canyon excursions, the Algoma Central ran

3300-671: The new owner started repairs to the roof. Tenants noticed a reduced amount of traffic after leaks started, and buckets were scattered throughout the mall. In 2009, leaks in the mall roof and mould caused Elliot Lake city councillors to consider moving the Elliot Lake Public Library out of the mall and back to the Solomon Building, where it had been before 1992. Many books were damaged, despite library staff using tarps to cover shelves. At some points, entire sections were blocked for public health reasons. Much of

3375-497: The outside. Prime Minister Stephen Harper also offered the assistance of the Canadian Forces on June 26. Two bodies were recovered from the debris on Wednesday, June 27—four days after the collapse. The area which collapsed included two kiosks . The deceased had been a lottery kiosk employee and her customer. Lucie Aylwin, 37, worked just once a week at the lottery booth, earning extra money for her wedding. Aylwin held

3450-631: The paper publishes each Thursday and serves much of the North Shore region, including Iron Bridge , Blind River , Spanish and Sables-Spanish Rivers . The paper was first published in the 1880s on St. Joseph Island , as the St. Joseph Island Herald . Following the emergence of Elliot Lake as the region's principal community in the 1950s, the paper moved to the city and became the Elliot Lake Standard in 1957. This article about

3525-469: The passenger service with the intention to increase services and marketing. In March 2015, the Canadian government guaranteed funding of the service for an additional three years. In June of the same year, Canadian National said it would stop the service on July 15 after it was unable to make a deal with Railmark Canada. The government subsidy still stood, but a new rail operator needed to be sought by

3600-494: The phrase and Hudson Bay was not removed from the railway's name until June 30, 1965. The Algoma Central was the first Canadian railway to operate fully with diesel fuel, in 1952. The railway had been in the shipping business since 1900, when it had purchased four steamships . Starting during the 1960s, the railway greatly expanded its marine operations and diversified into trucking , real estate , forestry , and mining operations. These operations were more profitable than

3675-405: The placement of a parking lot on the roof, which allowed water, contaminated with road salt, (which accelerated the corrosion) to corrode the structure. The report states that there were two critical errors made during the planning stages. Firstly, the parking lot for the mall was located on the roof of the building without there being sound waterproofing, and secondly the structural inefficiency of

3750-533: The process. Mall owner Nazarian received death threats , which pushed him into hiding, and a class action lawsuit had already been launched by June 28, according to his lawyer. The class action lawsuit was launched by the owners of the Hungry Jack's franchise in the mall. The lawsuit lists as defendants Algo Centre Mall, Eastwood Mall Inc., Robert Nazarian, the City of Elliot Lake, the Province of Ontario, and

3825-465: The public health department. He expressed concern that the information might end up in the local landfill. Documents were never extracted from Algo Mall. Many health, social assistance and Service Canada files were found at the city landfill. Documents found among the rubble by a private source said to be photocopies of clients drivers licences, social insurance numbers, health cards and birth certificates. The private source never removed any documents from

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3900-481: The railway operations, and on April 30, 1990, as part of a corporate reorganization, the name of the company was changed to Algoma Central Corporation , with the Algoma Central Railway becoming one of its subsidiaries. A few years later, the Algoma Central Railway was put up for sale. On February 1, 1995, Wisconsin Central Ltd. purchased Algoma Central Railway Incorporated, operating the railway as

3975-565: The real estate branch on the Algoma Central Railway , commissioned the Algo Centre Mall project. The project was subsequently approved by the Ontario Municipal Board in 1978, with an estimated cost of $ 10 million. Construction began in 1979 and the project was finished the next year. The 80-room Algo Inn, the town's largest hotel and retirement residence, was also built into the mall. In its first year, 1980,

4050-555: The regional stakeholders group. Railmark was unable to secure a line of credit from a lending group, which hindered its ability to take over services. In 2017, the Missanabie Cree First Nation started investigating taking operational control of the line. Canadian National announced its intent in July 2020 to sell off non-core lines in the Upper Midwest as part of a rationalization programme, all of which were previously part of

4125-472: The roof deck collapse, was already not properly binding to the concrete , in turn allowing water to seep into the building's seams, as early as 1981—barely a year after the mall's original opening. The expansion joint was fixed many times, and fully replaced twice, during the building's lifetime, yet always began tearing away from the concrete again shortly after the repairs were complete. At approximately 2:20 pm EDT (1820 GMT) on Saturday, June 23, 2012, part of

4200-469: The roof for events. In 2011 and 2012, it served as the site for the Heart and Stroke Foundation 's Big Bike ride . In June 2011, a piece of concrete fell through the ceiling at a mall restaurant, Hungry Jack's. Reports were filed with the mall manager and the city, with an inspector scheduled to visit two weeks following the incident. The inspector did not show, and mall management did not reply. Hungry Jack's

4275-586: The rubble, efforts shifted to official investigations. On March 8, 2013, the engineering firm NORR , commissioned by the Ontario Provincial Police , released the results of their forensic engineering investigation to the Elliot Lake Inquiry. The investigation found that the collapse was caused by a two-stage failure of the welding on a connection, due to extensive corrosion. The corrosion was caused by improper waterproofing and

4350-419: The search; the owners also announced their intention to seek a court injunction ordering the resumption of search and rescue efforts. After an appeal from local MPP Michael Mantha , whose constituency office was in the mall, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty urged rescue workers to resume their search for survivors. HUSAR later stated that the rescue teams were continuing to strategize alternate methods during

4425-471: The second option, and convinced the owner to install the second system. The report called this system "intrinsically flawed", and leaks were noticed immediately after construction. Leaks were noticed immediately after the installation of the topping. Harry S. Peterson Co. attempted many times to fix the leaks. In 1991, the owners contracted Trow to investigate the chronic leaking and find a solution. Two options were provided, but upon consulting with Coreslab, it

4500-405: The site, including structural columns that were already crooked, steel beams that were already rusting despite being new, and the fateful decision to place the complex's parking area on the roof. According to Kadlec, the construction company opted to resolve the structural issues not by redoing the construction, but by anchoring the building's back wall to the rock outcropping behind it. James Keywan,

4575-512: The situation likely didn't warrant an emergency call to police. The reporter was provided a FOI application on police arrival, and told to ignore instructions from their superiors on calling police. Tryon, producer Kieron O'Dea and cameraman Trevor Owens would later receive a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Breaking National News Reportage at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards . Following the collapse, concerns were raised that Algo Centre Mall may contain asbestos which may have been released during

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4650-506: The street. The scale of the building, its introverted nature and the lack of tactile materials, detail, and transparency at the pedestrian level, do little to contribute to the urban environment. The Mall and the Hotel are a terrific amenities and likely contribute greatly to the attraction of shoppers and visitors to the downtown core, but the design is less than sensitive to its urban environment. The final owners, Eastwood Incorporated, acquired

4725-404: The structure and deemed the corrosion "not of structural significance." At the 2013 inquest into the roof collapse (see #Government reaction below), testimony has revealed that many unpublicized structural problems at the mall dated all the way back to its initial construction in the late 1970s. In particular, the expansion joint above the escalators, the failure of which appears to have caused

4800-496: The summer of 2008, a location of SAAN , a department store, closed. The Bargain! Shop purchased the brand in August of that year, taking over some leaseholds. In September that year, Mayor Rick Hamilton located his campaign office at the mall. In January 2009, the Elliot Lake Model Railroad Club opened at the local civic centre, moving from the mall. In 2010, a new Shoppers Drug Mart opened away from

4875-446: The support structure a few months prior to the final collapse. The inquiry also found that while Perizzolo died almost instantly, Aylwin may have survived for up to 39 hours after the collapse, and may have been found alive if HUSAR had not suspended its rescue operations. As of the end of June, the economic impact of Algo Centre's closure was unknown, but described by Mayor Rick Hamilton as "huge". Estimates suggest 250 people worked at

4950-465: The take-out counter. Drip-tarps installed by the mall in the kitchen of the restaurant were ineffective. The cafe owner was not made aware of the leaks before starting her lease in 2007, and was successful in a lawsuit against the owner. Scotiabank had closed for a few weeks in 2008 as a precaution. (Scotiabank began construction on a new location in July 2011, to replace their mall location.) Some businesses suggested that additional leaks started after

5025-488: The train station in Sault Ste. Marie. The railway is the subject of the song "Algoma Central 69" by Stompin' Tom Connors . The Agawa Canyon Tour Train has continued to operate as a separate entity since 2015. Named railway points and sidings are listed from south to north. Elliot Lake Standard The Elliot Lake Standard is a weekly newspaper, published in Elliot Lake , Ontario . Owned by Postmedia ,

5100-539: The unnamed engineer "who approved the structure of the mall a short time prior to this incident." Foodland leased the city's Collins Hall recreational facility for conversion into a temporary grocery store, which opened in October 2012. Foodland's permanent new store opened at Pearson Plaza on April 1, 2016; the Collins Hall facility (W.H. Collins Centre) was then converted back to recreational use, with several of

5175-480: The work suspension, and that the local residents and the Premier's call did not influence their actions. Shortly after 10 p.m. on June 25, approximately 19 hours after the initial search was suspended, HUSAR confirmed that it would resume its efforts, including a willingness to employ "drastic measures", including the use of heavy equipment to pull down the unstable escalator structure and part of an external wall from

5250-403: Was aware of the mall's roof problems when purchasing the facility, and suggested there would be renovations to the mall, but would not commit to a date for completing roof repairs or interior upgrades. Over $ 1 million was spent in an attempt to repair the roof. Architect John Clinckett of Kitchener was hired to oversee the project; Canadian Construction Controls of Breslau declined to bid to install

5325-420: Was determined that neither plan could go forward due to the HCS not being able to support additional loads. These leaks allowed water to seep through the topping and access the steel frame of the building. This corroded much of the building's frame during the mall's three decades in operation. The corrosion was eventually so severe that the weld on a connection failed, resulting in the collapse. A public inquiry

5400-463: Was established on July 19, 2012, by the Government of Ontario. The inquiry itself started March 4, 2013. As part of the inquiry, portions of a 700-page engineering report (NORR report) into the collapse were made public. John Kadlec, a consulting engineer on the original construction, has testified that he raised concerns at the time about sloppy workmanship and inadequate construction materials at

5475-457: Was intending to build a line between the CPR main line and Hudson Bay . He then changed the name of the Algoma Central Railway to The Algoma Central and Hudson Bay Railway Company , anticipating a connection either to Moose Factory on James Bay or to some point on Hudson Bay. The Algoma Central fell victim to the bankruptcy of Clergue's Consolidated Lake Superior Company in 1903. At that time,

5550-568: Was later named Algoma Steel ). The Algoma Central Railway was chartered on August 11, 1899. The railway's Dominion and provincial charters gave it authority to build north from Sault Ste. Marie to a junction with the Canadian Pacific Railway 's main line, as well as a branch line to Michipicoten Harbour, on Lake Superior near Wawa. In 1901, Clergue acquired the charter of the Ontario, Hudson Bay and Western Railway , which

5625-446: Was pursuing, despite the library's preference for a 2½-year lease. In the end, the library remained at the mall. Some tenants suggest that mall business owners were said to not be vocal about their disappointments, unless "water is dripping right on their head (or) if the water is destroying their business"; conversely, one previous mall manager suggests he was called daily by tenants about the issue, before 2008 repairs started. The owner

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