The long-promised hospital for the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area will have to find a new location.
The previous Liberal government had picked a location in April 2016, saying it would work to rezone the land from agricultural use, however the location was criticized by local farmers.
Farmers who own the land west of where Highways 40 and 30 meet were not willing to sell, so in July 2018 the Liberal government said it would take steps to expropriate the terrain.
The Montreal Metropolitan Community, the association of 80 municipalities which governs the Greater Montreal area, repeatedly opposed the project and said that agricultural land should be protected.
Regardless the provincial government was going to overrule the MMC and the land zoning, and construction was due to begin in 2022.
However with a new provincial government plans to expropriate the land have not moved forward, and last month the MMC reiterated its opposition to the location chosen.
The CAQ is now looking at other areas, much to the dismay of Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon.
He is concerned that finding a new location will take several years.
"It is a perfect site because it's right by the 30, the 40, the 20. You could go west to St. Lazare, places like that, with some roads too. It's so perfect for the whole region," said Pilon.
He believes finding another location would be hard because while the city covers a large territory, not all locations are suitable.
Pilon said no hospital can be near a railway used to transport cargo because of the risk of spills.
He also says that any hospital needs to be near a highway in order to maximize accessibility to those in the region.
