JP sends "message" with housing corporation verdict

Justice of the Peace Mike Kitlar said he wanted to send a “message” in convicting the Nipissing District Housing Corporation on three counts related to a fire Aug. 22, 2003, at the Edgewater apartment building.

Jackie Deschamps, a 58-year-old tenant at the time, died in the fire, and the housing corporation was charged with three Ontario Fire Code charges: unlawfully failing to maintain doors and fire separations to make sure they properly closed and latched; unlawfully failing to inspect doors and fire separations monthly; and unlawfully failing to ensure every door and fire separation was equipped with a self-closing device.

Never happens again
Kitlar gave his verdict today following a one-day trial Wednesday, while also imposing a $15,000 fine and a $1,250 victim surcharge.

“A message has to be sent,” JP Kitlar said.
“I want to ensure this never happens again.”

Allowing smoke
Three units in the Edgewater building had had self-closing devices removed from the entrance doors, and a fourth unit, number 414, where the fire started, had had the arm of the device disengaged.

A scooter in 414 had also been propped against the entrance door, allowing smoke from the fire to escape into the hallway.

Ian McLean, the lawyer for the corporation, had argued the tenants in the four units had tampered with or removed the self-closing devices.

McLean also said the Ontario Tenants Protection Act stipulated the corporation must give tenants 24-hour written notice before inspecting a unit. By that time, corporation CEO Carol Conrad testified, tenants could easily reinstall or reattached the self-closing devices.

Due diligence
Kitlar agreed the Tenants Protection Act was “a hurdle,” particularly when looked at in conjunction with the Ontario Fire Code.

“They really don’t synch together,” Kitlar said.

Regardless, he said the "due diligence" defence put forward by the corporation “did not meet the criteria,” nor were the provisions of the fire code “met and abided by.”

Off the table
Prosecutor Bill Brunton said the maximum fine was reserved for "the worst offenders, so that maximum is off the table."

At the same time Brunton said there were no identical cases elsewhere from which to draw what the fine should be.

He presented Kitlar with a package of news clippings about other fire-related incidents elsewhere in Ontario.

Modest rent
Brunton then asked for a $20,000 fine in total for all three counts.

He speculated the corporation brings in $400,000 a month in rent from its 800 units “even assuming a modest rent of $500."

Conrad said after the verdict the corporation doesn’t bring in nearly that amount, with its lowest rent being $82 per month.

McLean asked for a $3,500 fine.

The corporation has been given 90 days to pay. As well, Conrad said, the inspection checklist has been amended to include visual inspections of all doors.

Randy Vezina, a fire prevention officer with the North Bay Police Service, told JP Kitlar that he had viewed and signed-off on the corporations fire plan, calling it a "thorough and comprehensive" document.

The corporation's conviction does not end its legal woes; a wrongful death suit has been filed against it by the Deschamps family.