ELLIOT LAKE, Ont. - Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has promised financial assistance for Elliot Lake as it begins a long cleanup after the destruction of its only mall.

Before he left the northern Ontario city, McGuinty committed to economic assistance to help those who lost jobs and businesses.

"Some folks lost their jobs here. Hopefully those (jobs) will come back but we are going to have to provide them some income support," he told reporters Thursday morning.

"It was more than a retail centre. There were social services, there was a library in there. It was important to the community in so many different ways. We are looking into the future to see what we can do to assist in economic development generally."

He didn't offer an amount, but said there are a number of current provincial programs the city could tap into.

There has been no word whether the mall will be rebuild or completely torn down after the roof caved in Saturday afternoon, killing two - an employee and a patron.

The recovery efforts destroyed much of the remaining structure around the affected area, as heavy machinery tore down walls and removed large chunks of concrete in an attempt to safely reach possible trapped victims.