By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
The nonprofit overseeing a former religious retreat centre in Sutton is seeking a court order forcing the municipality to grant a permit for a drug and alcohol rehabilaitation centre on the site.
The Villa Châteauneuf was built in 1911 on a 25-acre plot donated by philanthropist and politician Eugene Dyer, who stipulated that it should be used for educational purposes. It initially housed a convent and school. In 1971, it was transferred to the Foyers de la Charité, a network of religious retreat centres-slash-utopian communities based in France and affiliated with the Catholic Church. In June 2023, amid declining religious participation and the impact of COVID restrictions, the papal delegate of the Foyers de la Charité decreed the closure of the entire network; the last six permanent residents of the Sutton centre moved out that September. Since then, the complex of eight buildings has sat empty, overseen by a nonprofit board of directors.
The board of directors initially planned to cede the property to Le Chaînon, a Montreal-based organization for domestic violence survivors, but that plan fell through amid opposition from the town of Sutton. Sutton Mayor Robert Benoit has previously said the town intends to use its right of pre-emption to take the complex over and move local services there, replacing the aging Centre John-Sleeth. In November 2023, then-papal delegate Msgr. Michel Dubost wrote to Benoit and Villa Châteauneuf Inc. board chair Serge Poirier, saying both proposals seemed “motivated by community well-being” and the organization would not intervene to support or oppose either one.
In May 2024, Villa Châteauneuf announced plans to rent the property out to Maison La Passerelle, a Montérégie-based nonprofit, to house a rehabilitation centre for women dealing with addiction.
According to the Villa Châteauneuf court filing, Villa Châteauneuf signed an agreement with La Passerelle that would have allowed it to take the centre over that July. La Passerelle applied for an occupancy permit on May 8 and paid the $55 fee a week later. The town didn’t grant the permit, initially raising concerns about fire safety and missing documentation. On Aug. 20, Villa Châteauneuf sent a mise en demeure to the municipality, raising the possibility of a court case if the permit wasn’t issued. Three months later, on Nov. 18, the nonprofit filed a request for a protective order.
“Our request for a permit was in accordance with the rules, we meet all the requirements and the town doesn’t have discretionary power,” said Victor Marchand, vice president of the governing board of Villa Châteauneuf. “The town can’t just refuse. We’re asking the court to order them to grant us a certificate of occupation.”
Diocese challenges legitimacy of nonprofit
The Diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe has sent a mise en demeure of its own to the town, stating that Villa Châteauneuf Inc. should have been dissolved when the retreat centre closed in 2023, and the former convent and all associated property should have become the property of the diocese. Consequently, lawyers for the diocese write, the request for a permit is illegitimate.
They further argue that the La Passerelle proposal does not respect the conditions laid out by Eugene Dyer. “The granting of the permit by the city may lead Eugene Dyer’s family trust to retake possession of the building, to the detriment of our client,” diocese lawyers write.
“That’s very surprising for Holy Mother Church; I’m not sure what they want to accomplish with that,” Marchand said.
A sense of urgency
Marchand argued that it was urgent for the town to grant the permit, which was required for the rehab centre to get approval from the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS. He said the costs of heating and maintaining the sprawling complex for another winter would be prohibitively expensive for his organization; the nonprofit’s lawyers argue that it may cost as much as $200,000. “La Passerelle will assume all of the operating fees [if it takes possession of the property]. We have no other revenue.”
Amélie Lemieux, executive director of La Passerelle, said in a court filing that the rehabilitation centre had outgrown its current premises in Saint-Siméon-de-Bagot and needed a larger space.
The demand for a protective order will be presented in court in Cowansville on Dec. 17. “Normally, if the request is made in accordance with the requirements, the town doesn’t have discretionary power – I’m confident we’ll win,” Marchand said.
The municipality of Sutton, the diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe and the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS were not able to comment before the BCN went to press on Monday.