Andy Johnson, CTVNews.ca
Published Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012 6:09AM EDT
Last Updated Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012 11:23AM EDT
Residents of Elliot Lake, Ont. are sharing stories Wednesday about how their lives have been affected in the aftermath of a deadly mall collapse earlier this summer.
Justice Paul Belanger is holding an informal meeting Wednesday as he and his team kick off their one-year inquiry into what went wrong and how the disaster was handled.
A disabled senior, who uses a wheelchair, told the commission that the Algo Centre Mall was a central hub that was accessible to all members of the community.
Now that the mall is closed, she said, simple tasks such as shopping and running errands are much more difficult, and expensive.
"This is a seniors’ town," the woman said. "We were brought here from other places, thinking and knowing we would be well serviced as seniors. And even to try and get to see you... it was extremely difficult to get a seat on the Wheel Transit."
Another man talked about how the mall was a central meeting place for members of the francophone community, and another shared how he has been unable to check out library books since the closure of the mall, which housed the facility.
Belanger and his team are hoping to get a better perspective on the role the mall played in the community, and how its closure is affecting residents.
They have already spent several days touring the town and visiting the rubble of the collapsed mall.
In his opening remarks, Belanger expressed his condolences and said the disaster, which killed two women and injured about 20 others "shook all Ontarians as well as the people of Canada."
Part of the mall's rooftop parking lot collapsed on June 23 into the food court area, triggering a rescue and recovery effort that lasted for days and made headlines across Canada.
Since then, some residents of the town have alleged the mall was in disrepair with leaks, cracks and rusty structural beams visible in the months leading up to the disaster.
Belanger and his team are expected to spend a year looking into the case before releasing a report on whether the tragedy was preventable.
The lawyer for Bob Nazarian, the owner of the Algo Centre Mall, also released a statement on behalf of his client on Wednesday.
Lawyer Antoine-Rene Fabris said he and Nazarian have made it clear to the commissioner's team that they wish to help with the public inquiry in any way possible.
However, the statement staunchly defended the mall's safety record.
"Since Eastwood Mall Inc. took ownership of the Algo Mall more than six years ago, they have had in place a regular program of maintenance and inspections, specifically regarding issues concerning the roof," the statement said.
"The Owners of the Algo Mall have in hand historical as well as current engineering reports that clearly indicate that there was never any structural issue concerning the roof at the mall, making the collapse of the roof even more surprising."
New Democrat MPP Michael Mantha, who represents the provincial riding that includes Elliot Lake, said residents want to know more about the inquiry process and whether they should get involved.
He told The Canadian Press he is encouraging residents to share their perspective with the commission.
"Now that they're over the trauma of the tragedy and those raw emotions that were there, people are starting to remember particular situations or incidents," Mantha said.
"People are remembering there was a crack, there was some leaking."
The mall represented a major social and business hub for the community, and so far only a handful of businesses have managed to relocate.
According to some estimates the town lost 60 per cent of its retail space when the mall was shut down.
There are plans to construct a new mall, with hopes it could be ready by the end of next year.
