(Quebec) Valérie Plante “does not have to worry” regarding the gradual expansion of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital, assures Christian Dubé. The Minister of Health is asking for a little patience as the “business case” for the project is being finalized.
“When the business case is going to be completed, we will announce it. Mme Plante does not have to worry, “said the minister briefly before question period, Wednesday in Quebec.
On Wednesday, the mayor of Montreal took up the pen to state his concerns in connection with the project to expand and modernize the hospital. She asks the Legault government to publicly present “a clear proposal” for the establishment’s “phasing” expansion plan, a scenario that is “concerning” for patient care, according to her.
« Mme Plante doesn’t have to worry. We made a commitment to build, to have 720 rooms, we do things rigorously. We followed the steps, we made an opportunity file last year, we chose the site, now the site is very clear. [La] second step is the business case. When the business file will be completed, we will announce,” added Mr. Dubé.
The Minister of Health did not want to come forward on a timetable or quantify the budget. “I don’t want to play on words, it’s very rigorous. We are talking regarding several billion. I think we have to do things in order, ”he repeated on Wednesday.
The Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Users’ Committee also said it was “deeply concerned regarding the current plans for the renovation of the hospital”. In a letter addressed to Mr. Dubé, the committee asks him to “reconsider the renovation project and to favor a reconstruction project”.
The Press recently revealed that the CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal was evaluating a much less ambitious expansion scenario, which would include the renovation of the most dilapidated building, the cruciform, to respect the budget envelope of 2.5 billion announced by Quebec.
However, the expansion project would cost 4.2 billion, according to a financial analysis by the Société québécoise des infrastructures. In the wake of these revelations, Minister Christian Dubé said for the first time that the expansion project would be done “in phases”.
François Legault is “seriously” considering increasing the investments planned to carry out the project, Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said earlier this month following his meeting with the Prime Minister.
“Let’s not do things halfway and then regret it for decades, and let’s take stock of the situation in that hospital. Let’s also take the measure of the injustice for the east end of Montreal that we can correct and that we must correct,” reiterated Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon on Wednesday.
A schedule without “tataouinage”?
The case rebounded in question period when the member for Rosemont, Vincent Marissal, of Quebec solidaire, called on Mr. Dubé to present a clear plan for the future. “Can the minister make a commitment: a hospital, 720 beds, with the right budget, with a schedule without tataouinage? he asked.
Christian Dubé reaffirmed that the government was completing the business case for the project. “What was asked for is – given the complexities, the components of which the hon. member knows very well, of a building that is in tatters – [qu’]it is absolutely necessary to find the way to build the new hospital in the right way and [de façon] rigorous. That’s what we’re doing right now,” replied the minister.
“His answer is nonsense. It was going all over the place. […] Sorry, but the work was done correctly by the CIUSSS, which studied 24 possible sites; they have done their homework, we know how many beds it takes, the only glitch is that the CAQ government scratches the pennies because it does not want to spend more, ”lamented the MP for Rosemont, in an interview.
“As the government shovels forward and then does not carry out the project, not only are the costs exploding, but these are the patients who do not have access to services”, lamented for his part the interim leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, Marc Tanguay.
With the collaboration of Hugo Pilon-Larose, The Press
