The City of Hamilton says it has been concerned for months about the structural stability of the buildings that collapsed on Monday morning.
The City claims it was diligent in monitoring the structures.
However, City Hall is refusing to answer any questions about its Friday, November 8 inspection of the building.
The City is refusing to answer questions regarding why they issued permits for hundreds of people to gather on the Gore Park promenade for Remembrance Day ceremonies.
Collapse Happened on a Busy Weekend
At approximately 6:12 a.m. on Monday, November 11, the buildings at 24 and 28 King Street East collapsed onto the Gore Park promenade. Thankfully, nobody was injured.
Had the collapse occurred hours earlier, or hours later, dozens of people would’ve been injured with fatalities likely.
On Monday, immediately following Remembrance Day ceremonies in Gore Park, Mayor Andrea Horwath visited the collapse. Alongside City Manager Marnie Cluckie, the Mayor remarked, “It’s terrifying, it’s terrifying what could have happened.”
“But for the Grace of God there are no injuries.”
City Manager Cluckie stated “Staff were on site at this building on Friday trying to facilitate action on it.”
Cluckie confirmed the City’s building inspectors were on site.
The City Manager’s Office Communications Division took control of the file after the on-site interview.
Since then, the City has only released one statement – stating that all its procedures were followed, and that “Municipal Law Enforcement and Building Division teams have been vigilant in monitoring these properties.”
TPR requested more information regarding the Friday building inspection.
48 hours later, the City’s Acting Manager of Communications Antonella Giancarlo responded the information request should be “submitted through the Freedom of Information process.”
City Issued an Order that Buildings were “structurally inadequate or faulty” in July, Did Not Issue Further Orders
Released as required by provincial laws.
The City of Hamilton has disclosed a Building Code order dated July 22. Ontario’s Building Code Act requires municipalities to disclose all building code orders they issue.
The July 22 Order states, “the deteriorating building roof, walls, façade and exterior fire escapes appear to be in a state of: structurally inadequate or faulty for the purpose for which it is used” and this is “causing the building to be unsafe.”
The Order set August 9 as the compliance date to “provide a Structural Engineer assessment.”
The City has not stated if it received an engineering report.
Despite the July 22 finding that the building was structurally inadequate, the City continued to issue permits for events in front of the building.
The Downtown BIA held its summer concerns and Halloween children’s event in the very spot the building collapsed onto.
On November 10, the City permitted its Remembrance Day ceremony to occur in this location.
Every Saturday, hundreds of people are in this space. A toddler’s hay maze was in the exact spot only two weeks before the collapse.
Council Motion to Consider Changes Following Recent Building Collapses
During her on-site interview on the day of collapse, Mayor Andrea Horwath promised to review why Hamilton is experiencing building collapses and what changes the City may make to processes to prevent future collapses.
Council will vote on a motion to have staff review and report by the end of March 2025.
City’s Chief Building Official Unavailable
The City’s communications office is not providing the City’s Chief Building Official for comment. The CBO is attending Council meetings by video.
Production Details v. 1.0.0 Published: November 17, 2024 Last updated: November 17, 2024 Author: Joey Coleman Update Record v. 1.0.0 original version