Auxiliary volunteers locked out of MUHC

MONTREAL — The few gift shops that have set up at the McGill University Health Centre are doing brisk business these days. All of them are privately owned and operated, as are others that will soon open.

While these private businesses provide a service to staff members and visitors, some would like to see volunteer-run shops open as well.

“They get money for the right causes and, you know, we need volunteers,” one hospital visitor said.

That’s not about to happen.

A dispute over leasing between the MUHC and the consortium that built and owns the hospital has left auxiliary volunteers out in the cold.

The unpaid staff provide a vital fundraising service for Montreal’s English teaching hospitals. But you won’t find any at the new location of the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Children’s Hospital.

“Other hospitals used to have it too so I think the Children’s should have it too,” another visitor said.

Four commercial spaces are reserved for auxiliary volunteers to set up inside the MUHC. But the fundraising organization isn’t able to pay the commercial lease fees.

An agreement to offer the space rent-free or at a reduced rate can’t be reached between the MUHC and the consortium that owns the building, led by SNC-Lavalin.

“It’s just like money grabbing,” another visitor said.

A spokesperson for SNC Lavalin told Global News that it’s up to the MUHC to offer a deal to the auxiliaries for rental space, providing the health centre covers the difference.

The MUHC refused our request for an interview. But the hospital released this statement:

“The auxiliaries have always been an important part of the MUHC’s history, and remain an important part of our future; we will continue to work with them on creative fundraising ideas, as alternatives to the leasing of commercial space at the Glen site.”