EXCLUSIVE: Sault landlord owes nearly $400K in unpaid fines

A Sault Ste. Marie landlord has racked up nearly $400,000 in unpaid fines and other costs after being found guilty of numerous provincial fire code and building code offences at a pair of local rental properties — all in a span of less than two years.  

According to publicly available court records obtained by SooToday, the deluge of monetary penalties were issued to a numbered company operated by Jim Brogno, who owns four properties in the city. Brogno made headlines last year when he announced the permanent closure of The Canuck. 

Since the fall of 2021, building and fire officials have slapped his numbered company with at least $381,073.50 in fines and other costs. 

The fines are connected to 342-346 John Street — an apartment complex at the former site of John Wesley United Church — and 314 Albert Street East, a 15-unit rental building that was the focus of previous SooToday coverage when court documents linked the downtown property to $120,000 in fines stemming from nine provincial fire code offences.   

Last February, Brogno’s numbered company was found guilty of all nine offences related to the Albert Street East complex. The offences and corresponding fines included:  

• records of ongoing fire safety maintenance equipment not made available on site ($10,000)
• holes through walls, stairwells and rear exit hallway/corridor ($10,000)
• fire doors wedged open ($10,000)
• combustible materials accumulated inside and outside to create a fire hazard ($10,000)
• fire safety plan not prepared and approved ($40,000)
• portable extinguishers not replaced or maintained ($10,000)
• central alarm not checked daily ($10,000)
• obstructed exit ($10,000)
• no documentation indicating fire alarms were checked and replaced ($10,000)

An assistant to the Ontario Fire Marshal subsequently entered the property last summer with utility providers, in accordance with the Fire Prevention and Protection Act. They went in to cut off power, water and natural gas services due to "open end and live wiring, natural gas appliance venting into the structure and constant water pouring throughout the structure," according to a notice affixed to the building last year.    

Addiction and mental health advocates told SooToday last summer that a number of displaced residents from 314 Albert Street East ended up living in an encampment at the corner of Gore Street and Albert Street East, which was later torn down by the city of Sault Ste. Marie.

At the time, the total dollar figure of the Albert Street fines — $120,000 — was essentially unheard of in the Sault.

“That’s one of the higher fines that I’ve heard of or I’ve seen in my time,” said Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services Deputy Chief Paul Milosevich, speaking with SooToday last year. “But in the province of Ontario, there’s been fines like that, and even more, in the same realm. It’s not very common here.” 

But it turns out the fines didn't end there for Jim Brogno. Provincial court records reveal that his numbered company was slapped with an additional $180,000 in fines for seven fire code violations at the John Street property — just a couple weeks after the hefty penalties at 314 Albert Street East. 

The offences and corresponding fines for 342-346 John Street included:  

• fire doors wedged open ($20,000)
• entrance/exit doors not fully functioning ($5,000)
• emergency lights not fully functioning ($20,000)
• failure to implement fire safety plan and maintenance requirements ($90,000)
• failure to perform annual fire extinguisher inspections ($20,000)
• fire alarm system not tested ($20,000)
• failure to check smoke alarms annually ($5,000)

Another provincial offence involving John Wesley Apartments is slated to be heard in court next month.   

The remainder of the outstanding payments linked to Brogno's numbered company (approximately $81,000) stem from its failure to comply with orders issued by the city’s building inspector and bylaw enforcement officers over building code violations at both properties. It is unclear from the court records whether some of those costs are connected to corrective actions taken by the municipality at one or both of the properties.

One thing is certain: All the fines incurred by Brogno and his numbered company — including a fine of $850 for building code offences at 634 Connaught Avenue dating back to 2020 — remain unpaid, long after the court-imposed 30-day deadline.    

SooToday reached out to Brogno for comment but he has not replied to any of the messages.