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Collapsed mall owners won't reinforce building

No one will be entering the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake to retrieve any items before it is demolished.

A lawyer representing the owners of the mall says they won't foot the bill to meet the Ministry of Labour's conditions, which states no one can enter the mall until the owners present a plan that will stabilize the building.

Part of the mall's roof collapsed on June 23, killing two women and injuring dozens of others. The mall has been left dormant, but is being watched by security guards.

"The cost will far exceed the benefit of doing so, and there's just no resources for that to occur,” said Michael Title, the lawyer representing owners Robert Nazarian and Levon Nazarian.

Title said it will cost more than $4 million to reinforce the building.

"It's really impractical to foresee a $4 million engineering project for the purpose of recovering inventory or materials."

Ministry spokesperson Matt Blajer said the order is for the whole mall and its “primary concern is that no one else gets injured or killed [while] in the mall."

Title said he has received about six formal requests to enter the mall — most of which are from insurance companies wanting to recover inventory.