Montreal officials defend Inuit health centre

Montreal health officials are trying to allay local fears about a plan to convert a former hospital into a rooming house for Inuit visiting the city for medical care.

The intention to retrofit the former Chinese hospital on Saint Denis Street in Villeray has been met with trepidation by residents and elected officials who say they are concerned about an influx of drugs and alcohol if patients are brought in from Nunavik, the far northern region of Quebec.

People in the neighbourhood say the former hospital could be better used to serve the local population.

"I want to try to help people from my village, before trying to help people from somewhere else," said Nicolas Quenville, a Villeray resident who attended a community meeting Wednesday night to discuss the hospital plan. Elderly neighbours are regularly sent away for care when "they should stay here," Quenville told officials and residents at the meeting.

The borough's mayor, Anie Samson, has opposed the plan from its inception. "I think this is the last building we can give to [local] citizens," she said.

Montreal's public health department picked the former Chinese hospital because of its size. Inuit patients are currently housed in seven locations across the city, and are carried by bus to the Montreal General Hospital for treatment.

It makes sense to keep everyone under the same roof, "so that the Inuit people can be welcomed, can be in an environment that is more conducive to health care," said David Levine, president of the Montreal Public Health Agency. "What we're looking for is a residential community."

Concerns about drug and alcohol use are unfounded, Levine told the meeting. "The majority of the population [sent for treatment] are children, young people, and elderly people that come for health care services," he said. "This is not a community that would disturb the residents at all."

If the project goes ahead, Nunavik patients will be sent to the converted hospital as early as this fall.