The Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) recommends going ahead with the redevelopment of the site of the former Royal Victoria Hospital by McGill University, but has reservations, particularly about the addition of a wing to the Women’s Pavilion, and suggests integrating the wooded areas and green spaces located to the north of the site into Mount Royal Park.
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On the Aboriginal claims relating to the transfer of the site, the OCPM emphasizes that “the possible presence of ancient or more recent burials should be treated with deference”.
Here is what emerges from the OCPM’s report, unveiled Tuesday morning following the consultations carried out by the organization during the fall of 2021.
Since the move of the McGill University Health Center (MUHC) in 2015 to another site, McGill University has been working on a project called the “New Vic” to make the old hospital a place dedicated to social and environmental research. .
The 14-hectare site, located on the side of Mount Royal, includes 17 pavilions. The parcel that could be donated to McGill by the Government of Quebec represents approximately 15% of the site.
More than 3,000 people could work and study in the space, which is expected to be completed in 2028. The room where rows of beds once stood would be converted back into study space. The parking lot in front of the entrance would be replaced by a large green space. Green roofs, common areas and skylights are planned.
Last March, the Mohawk Mothers group filed a motion in the Superior Court of Quebec to stop the redevelopment work of the former hospital, as long as the site has not been the subject of meticulous archaeological excavations. The group suspects the presence of unmarked graves in the area of the Allan Memorial Psychiatric Institute, where secret medical experiments “funded by the CIA” were carried out in the 1950s and 1960s.