Charges in Elliot Lake mall collapse

Ontario Provincial Police have charged one person in the June 2012 fatal collapse of the Algo Centre mall in Elliot Lake.

Robert Wood, 64, an engineer who inspected the mall, faces two counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. A judicial inquiry into the roof collapse
has heard that Wood declared the centre structurally sound just weeks before it gave way.

But the inquiry also heard the roof of the poorly designed and built mall had leaked from the beginning, and decades of water and salt penetration caused severe rusting of its steel support structure.

Doloris Perizzolo, 74, and Lucie Aylwin, 37, were killed in the collapse.

Police say the criminal investigation is still ongoing. Wood will appear in court in Elliot Lake on March 25th.