Shoppers Drug Mart parent company sues City of Thompson over 2023 fire that destroyed store

Firefighters in Thompson battle a fire at a Shoppers Drug Mart on March 9, 2023. (Ian Graham/Thompson Citizen)

The parent company of Shoppers Drug Mart is suing the City of Thompson, alleging negligence in a fire that destroyed one of its stores and damaged several other businesses.

George Weston Limited, the corporation that owns the chain of drugstores, filed the civil suit in the Court of Kings Bench on March 6, claiming the loss of the store was a result of negligence by the municipality.

The suit stems from a March 2023 fire at the Shoppers Drug Mart location at a Selkirk Avenue strip mall in Thompson.

The court documents allege an electrical fire broke out just before 2 a.m. in a leased storage room at the store.

Thompson Fire and Emergency Services (TFES) crews arrived on scene and fought the flames until just after 4:30 a.m., the suit claims, before leaving and turning the building back over to the building manager.

According to the documents, the building manager noticed a second fire or a reignition of the first about an hour later, causing a total loss of the store.

The suit claims those damages were caused by the city’s negligence by failing to ensure the first fire had been extinguished with no possibility of rekindling, by not performing an adequate overhaul after the first fire and not providing a proper watch to monitor for rekindling.

Had emergency crews done so, the rekindled fire would have been caught and extinguished, and damages would have been avoided, the suit claims.

“The conduct of TFES as particularized above was reckless and inexplicable and constitutes bad faith,” the court documents read.

At the time, RCMP told CTV News Winnipeg the fire also caused extensive damage to adjoining businesses in the strip mall.

The suit noted a municipal corporation can be held liable in law for any damage caused through negligence of the fire department or its employees.

“The defendants owed a duty of care to the plaintiff and breached that duty, causing the plaintiff to sustain loss, damage and expense for which they are entitled to compensation,” the statement of claim said.

The company is seeking general and special damages, costs, pre- and post-judgment interest pursuant to the Court of King’s Bench Act, and any other further relief the court deems necessary.

A statement of defence from the city has not been filed.

A spokesperson for the city said they had no comment as the matter is before the court.

Meanwhile, a request for comment from George Weston Limited has not been answered.

- With files from CTV’s Charles Lefebvre