Halifax airport auto repair business shuts down

An auto repair shop operator who's been slapped with more than 20 workplace safety orders after the death of an employee is no longer in business at Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

Elie Hoyeck was running 1 Stop Auto Shop at the airport for at least seven months. He was sub-leasing the property from Hertz, the rental car company.    

A spokesperson for Hertz confirms to CBC News that the lease was terminated but would not explain why when contacted last week.

The 1 Stop Auto Shop sign has been taken down. But a couple of motor boats, a pile of tires and several vehicles were still scattered around the property. The undercarriage of a car was propped up on a hoist outside the garage bays.

Labour investigators had been inspecting 1 Stop. Hoyeck was hit with several workplace safety violations at the airport, including failing to come up with a safe welding plan. The Department of Labour says he was fined $800 and eventually complied with the orders. 

Workplace death still under investigation

In September 2013, Hoyeck ran Your Mechanic Auto Corner on Main Street in Dartmouth, when a fiery explosion killed an employee. Mechanic Peter Kempton, 58, died of his injuries after he accidentally sparked the fire while dismantling a mini-van with a torch.

Your Mechanic had been in business for at least seven years, but the shop had never been inspected by provincial labour investigators.

A CBC Investigation revealed the conditions there were "deplorable" and a "ticking time bomb," according to an expert hired by the province after Kempton's death. David Giles pointed out the yard was jammed with boats, cars, oil and gas containers and garbage.

RCMP have been investigating Kempton's death. Under the Westray Act, police can lay charges of criminal negligence in workplace deaths.

The Department of Labour has up to two years to lay charges under provincial laws.