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Improved safety measures at Ullivik residence in Dorval following two deaths

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New safety measures have been put in place in Dorval a year after two young Inuuk women died while staying at a local lodge for Inuit patients receiving treatment in Montreal.

Ullivik opened in 2016 as a place where Inuit patients could stay when they flew south for medical care. In August of last year, Jane Tulugak and Nellie Niviaxie died after being struck by vehicles on nearby highways.

 

Dorval Mayor Marc Doret, along with provincial MNAs and Montreal police (SPVM) representatives, announced that two new pedestrian crossings have been installed along with other measures to secure the transit corridor for those at Ullivik so they can access commercial hubs more safely.

"In August 2022, I made a commitment with our director general to find a way to provide a safe and secure environment for those staying at the Ullivik residence to move back and forth between Ullivik, the Dorval EXO-STM terminal, and the commercial hub on Dorval Avenue," said Doret. "We decided that solutions needed to be found, not just discussed, and we acted without waiting for higher levels of government or ministries. We did this at the local level to ensure the safety that all members of our community and to prevent any more fatal accidents like the ones that took the lives of Mary-Jane and Nellie."

New directional signs are in place in French, English and Inuktitut.

Ullivik health centre in Dorval, Que. is a lodging centre for Inuit receiving health-care treatment in Montreal. SOURCE: City of Dorval

"For us, it was paramount that, as an administration and based on the wishes of the municipal council, we take the necessary actions to make sure that such tragedies do not happen again," said Dorval director general Marc Rouleau.

A West Island youth organization - Action Jeunesse de l'ouest de l'ile (AJOI) - also presented a backpack project at the event, which provides backpacks with reflective patches to make pedestrians more visible.  

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