Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist
MARIA – The preliminary studies on the mechanical infrastructure of the Maria hospital centre, an essential first step towards building a new emergency room and intensive care unit, have been delayed again. The report, originally expected by the end of June, is now projected for September.
According to the CISSS de la Gaspésie, additional surveys and drilling are required before the study can be submitted. The delay follows budgetary concerns that had already caused the contract to be suspended last fall, although it was eventually relaunched during the winter.
The authorized studies are technical in nature, focusing on the facility’s electromechanical, structural, and civil components. Among other things, the study, conducted by the firm CIMA+, aims to determine whether: the electrical system is powerful enough to accommodate the expansion, and whether the water and sewer systems need to be adjusted to accommodate the expansion.
In September 2023, the CISSS board of directors increased pressure on the Quebec government to include the project in the 2024 Quebec Infrastructure Plan (PQI).
The resolution adopted by the board of directors and its chair to take steps to ensure that the Maria emergency project was included in the PQI and to take steps to obtain strategic support for the project to be recognized as a regional priority.
The absence of the project from the PQI when the 2024 budget was tabled in March prompted strong reactions from regional elected officials and the nurses’ union.
However, in the March 2025 budget, one line mentioned the Maria hospital in the PQI.
The document stated that “the Ministry of Health and Social Services will submit requests for approval by the government over the next year for new major projects, namely the Drummondville and Maria hospitals and phase 3 of the program to add places in MDAAs (seniors’ homes and alternatives).”
The project, which had been on the table since 2018, was granted “clinical relevance” status in the fall of 2022, meaning that the Ministry of Health recognized the need.
The Clinical and Real Estate Master Plan already showed in the spring of 2022 that the hospital, built in 1952, was no longer suited to modern practices, especially the emergency room, where the last renovations date back to 1972.
In June 2018, the CISSS de la Gaspésie adopted a resolution to move forward with a new construction to replace the current facility, a scenario that dates back even before the creation of the CISSS.
In the meantime, the modernization of the emergency room was prioritized.
For comparison, the new emergency room and intensive care unit at Gaspé Hospital—opened in 2021 in a newly connected building, cost $31.7 million.
No financial results before September
The CISSS de la Gaspésie’s financial results for the last fiscal year, which ended March 31, will not be available before September.
The network has submitted its final financial data to Santé Québec and is still awaiting official confirmation. The documents must first be tabled in the National Assembly, which resumes on September 16.
In an email, the CISSS stated that efforts are underway to meet the $30 million savings target for the 2025–2026 fiscal year, based on a total operating budget of $560 million.
However, CEO Martin Pelletier recently acknowledged that independent labour alone accounts for $20 million of the projected $30 million deficit.