Housing shortage: a real estate project for the CISSS des Îles soon?

Caught in the throat by the housing shortage, the CISSS des Îles is considering launching a real estate project.

At a meeting of the board of directors on Tuesday, its president and CEO, Sophie Doucet, recalled that the recruitment of workers, already a complex issue, is hampered by the lack of housing.

She indicated that the process is at an embryonic stage and that the possible terms of financing would have to be determined with the Ministry of Health and Social Services, if necessary.

All options are on the table, she stresses.

The CISSS des Îles currently rents about 50 units on the archipelago, and hopes to have about 30 rooms rushed into the Madeli Inn to house health care workers this summer.

On the other hand, the institution is now anticipating a budget deficit of $672,000 for the current fiscal year, well below the $3.3 million projected in February.

Sophie Doucet explained that a series of transfers from the Ministry, including a payment of $188,000 for medical imaging services, as well as a decrease in expenses of approximately $94,000, have lightened the books.

Note that CISSS des Îles has adopted a budget recovery plan of $445,000 for 2021-2022 and $2.4 million in the next fiscal year to reduce the use of independent labor, whose associated additional costs have been undermining the facility’s finances since 2016.