Concrete fell months before Elliot Lake mall collapse

Testimony at the inquiry looking into the fatal roof collapse at the mall inElliot Lake has raised questions about whether some at city hall put financial concerns ahead of safety.

City councillor Al Collett testified Thursday he told the city building departmentthere were signs thebuilding was deteriorating, just months before the fatal roof collapse.

• Watch:video explains Algo Centre Mall roof cave-in

Collett said a restaurant owner in the mall alerted him to something disturbing.

"He showed me a piece of concrete that had fallen through his ceiling tile and into his kitchen," Collett said.

Collett testified he took the concern to the chief building official in Elliot Lake, Bruce Ewald, and asked him what the city was going to do about it.

"His response to me was, it's difficult, it would look very bad for the city to shut the mall down. My response to that, and I regret saying it now was, what are we waiting for? Somebody to die?"

Chief building officialto testify

The mallremained open until June 2012, when a corroded steel beam in the roof gave way and concrete crashed down onto the floors below.

Previous evidence at the inquiry showed the city made some efforts to force permanent fixes at the Algo Centre, but there was little follow up.

The inquiry has also heard about close ties between the mall and city hall.

The Algo Centre was privately owned at the time of the roof collapse. But before that, it was owned by an economic development entity connected to the city that was created to transform the former mining town into a retirement mecca.

Chief building officials for cities are bound by municipal law to force commercial owners to fix or demolish buildings that are not watertight or structurally sound.

Chief building official, Bruce Ewald is expected to start his testimony at the inquiry on Friday.

The inquiry was established in July 2012 by the Ontario government to report on events surrounding the mall roof's collapse, and the deaths of Lucie Aylwin and Doloris Perizzolo, as well as the injuries to others and the emergency management and response.

Hearings began March 4 and are expected to conclude with testimony from former premier Dalton McGuinty on Sept. 12.