Public concern has pushed the Québec government to release funds to address a crisis at one of Montréal and Québec’s largest hospitals.
After weeks of debate, the Québec government announced an $85 million budget to start urgent repairs at Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont (HMR), beginning with the hospital’s parking lot. However, critics say this amount is far from enough. They are calling for nearly $5 billion to fully update the aging facility.
Premier François Legault and his Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) party have promised major renovations at HMR for years. Yet, they have delayed the project repeatedly, citing budget constraints and other priorities.
HMR is located in the east end of Montréal, serving the boroughs of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie and Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. The hospital has 500 beds, cares for almost 550,000 patients annually, and employs around 5,000 staff.
On April 29, a violent spring storm caused a power outage at the hospital. Its backup generator also failed. As a result, some surgeries had to be canceled.
For more than an hour, the intensive-care unit and surgery areas were without power. Elevators, respirators, infusion pumps, and other vital machines stopped working. Fortunately, the blackout happened between two surgeries, so no patients were harmed. However, water leaked into an operating room, and broken glass from blown-out windows caused minor injuries to some nurses.
Hospital workers have also reported problems with pests, including squirrels, bats, and ants inside the building. The hospital, founded in 1971, was created by merging two older hospitals from the late 1940s and early 1950s: Hôpital Maisonneuve and the tuberculosis sanatorium Hôpital Saint-Joseph de Rosemont.
The day after the power failure, medical staff protested outside the hospital. They demanded the government take immediate action to fix the hospital’s deteriorating condition.
Julie Bouchard, head of Quebec’s largest nurses’ union, the Fédération Interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), said, “If a giant hole opened on a highway and threatened drivers’ safety, repairs would happen immediately. The same urgency should apply to Maisonneuve-Rosemont, a crumbling hospital risking the lives of patients and staff.”
Dr. Chantal Rivard, who has worked at HMR for 28 years, told CBC, “For years, we have been holding the hospital together through one crisis after another, trying to avoid disaster. Mr. Legault, are you waiting for someone to die before acting?”
A coalition has now formed to push for the hospital’s full renovation.
The CAQ government, led by François Legault, faces heavy criticism and political pressure over Quebec’s healthcare system and the hospital’s condition.
CAQ Health Minister Christian Dubé announced plans to revise Québec’s infrastructure budget. This revision will allow funds to be released for the hospital repairs.
Opposition Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon warned that the government might misuse the funds. “The danger is that money meant for the entire hospital project will be spent only on the parking lot. Then, there will be no money left for the rest of the renovations. This is the risk we face.”
He added, “We want the entire project funded properly. That way, after the parking lot is fixed, there will be enough money for the next stages. But it’s tempting for the government to spend the money on the parking lot and use the rest elsewhere, where they expect more political gain.”
