By sunset on Monday a group of 90 nurses, retired miners, and support workers marched on a line of OPP officers (Ontario Provincial Police), blocking the front doors. They were prevented entry. A busload of additional OPP officers arrived Tuesday, presumably to remove debris.

But why were they armed with Tasers?

Politicians started scrambling. The Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, picked up the phone.

Why?

Because the rescue operation by the Toronto based Heavy Urban Search And Rescue Team was announced CANCELLED on Monday, WHILE there were still signs of life from the mall!

Bill Neadles, the bureaucrat in charge of this unit, handed back the rescue operations to local officials. He is quoted as saying this at his 5pm press meeting on Monday: "The demolition company that would be hired certainly would have to put into the plan a very respectful removal of the deceased that are in that building currently."

And so, the crane was removed from the site. Local officials at this time were left holding the bag, with the rescue team turning tail.

By sunset on Monday a group of 90 nurses, retired miners and support workers marched on a line of OPP officers blocking the front doors. They were prevented entry. A busload of additional OPP officers arrived Tuesday, presumably to remove debris.

The Toronto rescue team was rushed back to the site as a result of decisions behind-the-scenes, some long 19 hours later; because someone came up with a new and improved plan. It is unclear why this new plan wasn't acted on 19 hours earlier.

The collapse of the Algoma Mall in Elliot Lake occurred just after 2 pm ON SATURDAY.

This morning, Wednesday, the latest report is that an AMBULANCE is at the site, and the fiancé of a young woman who worked at a kiosk, missing since Saturday, has told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reporter Natalie Kalata that he has received "good news" from officials.

[link to www.cbc.ca]

WOULD THIS PERSON HAVE JUST BEEN LEFT TO DIE BY CANADIAN OFFICIALS?

Just as a sideline, Toronto has been the scene of an international Disaster-Emergency Convention; and on Saturday, some of the big shots from Toronto kept in touch with the community of Elliot Lake, in northern Ontario, by phone, instead of getting up there to coordinate the efforts, so badly needed early on.

"As rescuers in Elliot Lake work frantically to reach people trapped in a mall collapse, experts from around the world are in Toronto to talk rescue strategy at a disaster management conference." - Globe and Mail (link below).

[link to www.theglobeandmail.com]