MONTREAL -- Residents of a Rigaud private seniors' residence are scrambling to find a new place to live after the facility was ordered shut.

La Maison des Anges Blancs owner Brenda Samson said the regional health authority ordered her to close as of Dec. 18. Samson acknowledged she missed a November deadline to make ordered improvements but argued she had had done her best, with just one improvement left be made.

“The last thing I need to is (install) panic doors” that can be pushed and not pulled to get outside, she said.

Samson said she also needed updated certification.

“It was Bill 90 before, and I have that certification,” she said. “But they changed the law.”

Samson said finding contractors during lockdown has been difficult.

“I don't know how it's going to turn out right now because it's the pandemic,” she said.

She estimated the cost of completing the work would total around $100,000. The regional health board did not reply to a request for comment.

Kristina Nagy, whose father Frank has Alzheimer's and is among the facility's four residents, said she's been pleased with the quality of care. But with the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, she said the timing of finding him a new home couldn't be worse.

“He's someone who needs to keep busy,” she said. “He'll help clean, he'll peel carrots. But he's someone who needs to be around people.”

As for what improvements could be made, Nagy said she believes Samson just needs help administering La Maison des Anges Blancs.

“I really do think it's admin work she needs help with,” she said. “She's got her heart in the right place and she's put everything on the line.”

Resident Andrew Dzurovka said the closure will leave him “stuck.”

“I have until Dec. 18 to get out of here and I personally don't have the strength to go looking,” he said. “If the government knows how to close this place down, they know enough to keep this place open.”