HOSPITAL PROJECT NEEDS A COMMITMENT

The provincial election campaign is heating up. There are two issues in this region: separation and a new hospital. And there is very little wiggle room left on both counts. Both need to be settled — and soon. You don’t think there is frustration out there? Just talk to someone with the committee that has been pushing for the new hospital. The lobby group is holding a press conference this morning to unveil new billboards that will be going up in the region. As committee spokesperson Jasmine Sharma said yesterday in a brief interview: The committee “kind of feels they have been played” by the Parti Québécois. Two years ago, the Liberal government had announced it was going full steam ahead with the hospital project for the region, the only area in the province with a population base of this size that does not have a hospital. But when the Liberals lost the 2012 election, the project drifted. Last December, the attaché for the PQ’s health minister told the committee to be patient, an announcement would be imminent. It wasn’t. So much for being patient. The committee wants a commitment. The gloves are off.