Above watch: The McGill University Health Centre and SNC-Lavalin McGill are being sued by a group of Montreal and Westmount residents frustrated with noise coming from the MUHC superhospital. A member of Neighbours of the Glen Campus, Jean Gagnon, talks with Jamie Orchard about the lawsuit.
MONTREAL — Lower Westmount residents are concerned about the fact no one seems to be fixing a very loud problem: a loud, continual humming noise heard 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It comes from the ventilation system of the new McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) on the Glen Campus site, and it’s been bothering a number of residents living in the City of Westmount and the Montreal borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-Grâce.
“We are being tortured by this noise,” one resident told Global News in December.
WATCH: MUHC Westmount noise problem
Residents were so frustrated, they decided to do something about it: go public.
READ MORE: Westmount residents complain about noisy hospital
In December, when the issue was raised in the media, Denis Crevier, an SNC-Lavalin engineer, told Global News the the firm was working on eliminating the noise and the problem was expected to be resolved within a week.
“The sound technically should have been acceptable from day one,” Crevier said.
But four months later, after getting nowhere with the MUHC and SNC-Lavalin, a newly formed residents group called the Neighbours of the Glen Campus is now seeking authorization to launch a lawsuit on behalf of 3,000 residents.
“We have exhausted all efforts and all provincial and municipal channels to resolve the problem,” named plaintiff Marc Felgar, a lower Westmount resident, noted in a statement.
“Regrettably, we have no choice but to turn to the courts as a last resort.”
The group intends to sue the MUHC, McGill Healthcare Infrastructure Group, SNC-Lavalin McGill and Innisfree McGill over the lack of response.
The group is looking for people who currently live, work or study (or have done so since Feb. 1, 2014) within the area, which is bordered on the north by Côte-St-Antoine Street, on the west by Marlowe Street, on the south by De Maisonneuve boulevard and Ste-Catherine Street and on the east by Lansdowne Street, to join the class-action lawsuit.
Damages of $5,000 per person are being asked for “residents’ lost use and enjoyment of their property and violation of their right to a healthful environment.”
To find out if you’re eligible to participate, visit the law firm’s website.
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