Where once it looked like the entire blame for a fatal mall roof section collapse in northern Ontario last June would rest on the shoulders of a single engineer and his employer, testimony given in Toronto at a special provincial inquiry about the accident now shows a series of missteps and sloppy practices that may have contributed to the disaster.
Testimony presented on May 14, the 43rd day that the Ontario Ministry of Labor has heard witnesses, offered some of the most telling details.
The 2012 accident, in which the parking deck rooftop slab of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, collapsed onto a retail concourse below. Two women employed in the mall were killed in the accident.
Witnesses testifying in Elliot Lake, located 375 miles northwest of Toronto, described cursory inspections, overlooked rust on structural members and insufficient fixes on the leaking concrete roof slab.
In prior sessions, witnesses testified about every aspect of the building and the collapse.