The residential area in which 150 young people from the DPJ have to live will spend next winter under tarpaulins after “numerous water intrusions” in recent months.
Published at 1:18 am. Updated at 5:00 am.
The buildings of the Mont Saint-Antoine rehabilitation center in eastern Montreal are dilapidated and the work necessary to make them permanently waterproof could only be carried out during the cold season.
“Last summer there was a series of heavy rains that resulted in water intrusion,” said Daniel Neskovic, deputy director of technical services at the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal. “Our systems are still relatively old, very old for Mont Saint-Antoine, and the rainwater drainage capacity has reached its limits. »
“Tarpaulins are currently used to cover the external walls of buildings as water seeps between the cover and the brick,” the CIUSSS added in writing. “It is a temporary installation to cover the cracks. »
Last summer, a report in the Journal de Montréal highlighted the building's significant water infiltration problems, particularly during a heavy downpour in mid-July. Tiles had fallen from the ceiling and buckets had to be placed everywhere. One speaker admitted that the environment was so problematic that it would have been reported to the DPJ if it had not already been a DPJ installation.
“These public buildings should have been invested in a long time ago,” denounced Caroline Letarte-Simoneau of the Alliance of Professional and Technical Personnel in Health and Social Services (APTS), which represents many workers in Mont Saint-Antoine.
If it makes the environment inside safer, all the better. But I still have a lot of questions about how the winter will go. We don't want to relive what happened [lors de l’averse de la mi-juillet].
Caroline Letarte-Simoneau, member of the Alliance of Professional and Technical Personnel in Health and Social Services (APTS)
The CIUSSS assured that the situation does not pose any danger to the young people being accommodated.
The buildings at the center of the file, where troubled young people live, lie behind the historic building visible from Sherbrooke Street East. There are 8 blocks, each of which can hold 24 miners. They were built in 1965.
“Major damage after water leaks”
The CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal already carried out extensive work on these buildings last summer, but this was stopped after the torrential rain in mid-July.
“The amount of water that arrived on the way was completely unforeseeable. We haven't had that in the past, there was no indication that we could have expected this much rain and this amount,” explained Mr. Neskovic. His organization also argues that last spring's freezing rainstorm and episodes of strong winds contributed to the situation. “We stopped work and immediately secured the eight buildings. »
A number of contracts were subsequently awarded, in particular to carry out “emergency sealing of roof cracks” following “major damage caused by water intrusion”. There is then “the risk of an emergency evacuation of nursing units,” as the CIUSSS stated in the public tender system. Another company was hired to lay the tarps and attach spikes to keep the animals out.
The permanent renovation of the roof is scheduled to begin next spring. Preparing a tender takes six months, emphasized Mr. Neskovic.
Ultimately, Mont Saint-Antoine hopes to receive the necessary approvals from Quebec for a major housing reconstruction project. Estimated price: around 200 million.
“But we will not wait for this famous project,” said the deputy director of technical services. Our goal is to restore quality of life and safety for everyone for another 10-15 years. » “We are not sitting idle, we are not waiting for the miracle solution,” he added.