The city building inspector who is assigned to the Capital Pointe project took the stand on the third day of the appeal.

Jeremy Chalupiak is the person who signed off on the order by the city to fill the site back on April 3, 2018.

During cross examination, Chalupiak testified that while he has 10 years of experience as a building inspector, he only received his licence as a commercial building inspector the day before he signed off on the order, and only in a restricted capacity.

Chalupiak testified that he had taken the test for a commercial licence back in 2015, but he did not pass the exam. He hopes to retake the test by the end of the year to lift the restrictions on his licence.

As cross examination progressed, Chalupiak testified that he has not actually accessed the site since taking over the file, all of his inspections have been done from outside the fence.

When council for Westgate pressed him on this, he said that calls he made to the security company had gone ignored, and he had not made any attempts to contact the lawyers directly.

He also testified that while he signed off on the letter to fill the site, citing safety concerns, he couldn’t recall actually seeing any documentation from the previous engineer of record that the site is unsafe.

After Chalupiak’s cross examination wrapped up, the appeal board called an expert witness to the stand to testify.

Dr. Ibrahim El-Baroudy and his firm were hired by the board to examine the reports prepared by both expert witnesses and give testimony.

He testified that the site is stable, rather than safe, because there are too many sources environmental uncertainty to deem it safe.

In closing arguments the lawyers for Capital Pointe asked the board to revoke the order to fill the site given the testimony from the city’s engineer and building inspector, arguing that the city rushed to issue the order when unsafe conditions didn’t exist.

They also reminded the board that while many residents of Regina have concerns about the pace at which the project is progressing, this appeal is only focused on whether or not the site was safe on April 3, and whether it is safe at present.

In her closing arguments, Cliffordargued that the site is unsafe and that the excavation should be filled.

The appeal board will now deliberate the testimony. They anticipate it make take several weeks before the decision is released.  

CTV’s Karyn Mulcahy is at the appeal.