CALGARY – The man accused of beginning the fire that destroyed a large staff accommodation for Lake Louise Ski Resort will undergo a 30-day mental health assessment.
Timothy Peterson, who is charged with arson and possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, was ordered by Justice Sean Dunnigan to complete a not criminally responsible (NCR) assessment.
Peterson’s lawyer, Susan Karpa, made the request during his Aug. 15 hearing at Calgary Court of Justice.
The NCR will analyze Peterson – who is being held at the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre – to see if he understood his actions during the fire.
The Criminal Code of Canada pauses any legal proceedings of a person potentially unfit to stand trial until they are considered fit for proceedings to begin.
If the NCR finds a person accused of a crime was suffering from a mental disorder for which they’re facing charges, it would deem them unable to understand the full consequences of knowing what they did was wrong.
On July 3, Lake Louise RCMP – whose detachment building is near the staff accommodation – received several reports of a fire.
Firefighters from across the Bow Valley battled the blaze that ultimately left 165 people displaced. Dan Markham, communications director for Lake Louise Ski Resort and Summer Gondola, said 161 of those were Lake Louise Ski Resort staff, with others living in the accommodation and working at other businesses in Lake Louise.
After an investigation by the RCMP’s Southern Alberta District General Investigation Section, Peterson was charged July 3.
When police arrived at the scene, officers found a man on the roof of the Charleston who had a weapon.
Multiple residents told the Outlook Peterson had been wielding a knife, attempting to stab people.
Police de-escalated the situation, they said in a media release shortly after the fire, and convinced the man to come down a ladder. When coming down, police said Peterson slipped and fell and was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Markham said the displaced staff are staying in four modular housing units, each holding up to 44 people.
“With these four units, we were pretty much able to accommodate staff that we needed for the remainder of the summer,” he said.
Markham noted that the modular units have kitchen facilities, bedrooms and bathrooms and are located in an upper parking lot of the ski resort known as Charleston Heights.
Several fundraisers and collections for items such as clothing, toiletries and other personal items took place to help the displaced staff.
With the winter season approaching, he said the ski resort signed an agreement with Deer Lodge on Lake Louise Drive to provide accommodation for 125 people.
He said other staff also choose to live in Canmore, Banff and other places in Lake Louise, but seasonal workers tend to use staff accommodation.
The ski season often begins in early November, with some staff arriving mid-October to begin training. He added it’s a staggered approach to bring in staff since more people are needed when the ski season hits full swing in December.
“As the season progresses, we won’t hire or bring in all our ski instructors right off the bat because we just don’t have enough demand in that part of the season,” Markham said. “We usually have everything ramped up with full staff by mid-December in preparation for the upcoming holiday season.”
Markham noted the existing plan is to rebuild a staff accommodation on the same Village Road site, but there continues to be reclamation work done in addition to approval and planning processes through Parks Canada.
“There’s a lot of reclamation work that needs to be done there. … You couldn’t even begin construction until next spring at the earliest,” he said. “We’re doing the best we can to start clearing what’s there and they made it available for people to go in over the last couple of weeks just to make sure it was safe for people to do so. There’s going to be a long reclamation project and we’ll continue to do that as long as the weather permits.”
Peterson will return to court Sept. 12, where the psychiatrist’s recommendations will be presented.
