For the second time this month unionized workers at a private care facility in the Laurentians are protesting in hopes of keeping the centre open.
The Pavilion St. Marie announced in early March that it would have to close on April 15 because of a lack of funds.
Parents with children at the St. Jerome facility were furious about the short notice, especially since some people have been residents of the Pavilion St. Marie for decades.
The centre currently cares for people aged 12 to 68 with serious mental problems, including self-mutilation and biting.
FTQ spokesperson Charles Whitford said the Pavilion has already started transferring patients to other facilities, something that came to a halt Friday morning.
"They stopped transferring the patients because we are here, we are [protesting]," said Whitford.
"We're speaking for the families, for the patients as well. You know they cannot say what they have to say so we're saying it for them."
The building is in terrible shape and needs $38 million in urgent repairs.
Quebec's government has decided it makes more financial sense for residents to be transferred to other long-term care facilities, even though it means some residents will be moved to Mont Laurier, about 90 minutes away.
Health Minister Gaetan Barrette said earlier this month that some of those facilities would be able to provide better care for the Pavilion St. Marie residents, including programs not offered by the private facility.
Groupe Champlain owns and operates 14 such centres throughout Quebec, and has said 50 employees will lose their jobs. Other employees may be offered transfers, but don't know where.
"It's not easy for the patients, and it's not easy for the workers who work here who have to be transferred they don't know where," said Whitford.
"They have their roots here and now they have to get up and move somewhere, wherever they are told to go."
