ELLIOT LAKE, Ont. – The mayor of Elliot Lake says demolition has begun on the mall where two people died and around 20 were injured when part of its roof collapsed.

Mayor Rick Hamilton tells The Canadian Press the demolition is bitter-sweet because the mall was part of the life of so many of the town’s residents.

Lucie Aylwin and Doloris Perizzolo were crushed by debris from the Algo Centre mall, which destroyed several of Elliot Lake’s small businesses when the disaster happened on June 23.

The collapse in northern Ontario has sparked a $30-million lawsuit, an investigation by the Ontario Provincial Police and a public inquiry that is slated to start next month.

The lawsuit names the owners of the mall, the municipality of Elliot Lake and the provincial government.

The lawsuit contends the defendants did not address long-standing complaints about the safety of the mall and did not carry out necessary inspections of the structure.

Owners have said the mall was inspected regularly and that no structural deficiencies were found.

The legal action was filed by the owner of a restaurant in the shopping centre on behalf of victims of the incident.