Accused of throwing a wrench in the works of the long-awaited renovation of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal, the CAQ government argues that another 15 per cent cut to its renovation budget is necessary, specifically in the administrative sector.

Health Minister Sonia Bélanger stated on Thursday that the “optimization” would affect the administrative part of the project—the freight dock, the entrance hall, administrative spaces, etc.—but not the “clinical plan.”

When the CAQ government tabled its budget on Wednesday, opposition parties criticized the fact that the facility in eastern Montreal has not yet moved from the planning stage to the implementation stage in the Quebec Infrastructure Plan (PQI), even though $2.3 billion is earmarked for hospital construction and renovation.

Built in 1954, Maisonneuve-Rosemont is the “symbol of the dilapidation” of Quebec’s hospitals, according to the official opposition’s parliamentary leader, André Fortin.

During a parliamentary committee hearing on Thursday morning, Liberal MNA Monsef Derraji noted that in September 2023, Bélanger’s predecessor, Christian Dubé, had stated that everything was ready and that calls for tenders would be issued in the coming weeks.

But since then, work has not progressed on this project, which could exceed $5 billion according to circulating estimates.

“You are throwing a wrench in the works of this project,” Derraji told Bélanger.

Meanwhile, the project office is costing an additional $10 million for every month of delay, he lamented. Emergency funding of $300 million has even been requested.

“In a hospital infested with rats, ants, and bats (…), this delay risks having a budgetary impact,” he denounced.

“I’m telling you that Maisonneuve-Rosemont is a priority,” Bélanger assured.

“They will have the necessary funding to complete the (planning) phase,” she assured, adding that “the budget isn’t an open-ended allocation.”

On Wednesday, during the closed-door budget presentation, the Minister responsible for Infrastructure Benoit Charette, had specified that “preparatory work” would begin in the coming months to prepare the site that will host the future hospital.

Water system work will also be undertaken, he had indicated.

“This is a major step forward,” Charette had argued.