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Office of the Mayor
June 16, 2022
Dear Residents,
I was as surprised as many of you to hear of the unfortunate situation at the Villa Fleur Ange in Embrun this past week. When Township received a complaint from the Retirement Home Regulatory Authority (RHRA), municipal staff conducted an immediate investigation, practically and professionally. Once the building and fire departments deemed the situation an "immediate threat to life”, they immediately coordinated with local stakeholders to facilitate the relocation of those impacted residents while taking steps to help ensure their safety during the transition period.
I share and understand the frustrations caused by this revelation. I am grateful that, in this instance, the impact was merely an inconvenience for some and not a loss-of-life tragedy experienced by so many other municipalities; that is why I wish to thank all staff involved for keeping our residents' safety top of mind.
In light of the events which occurred, I also wish to highlight and thank our partners and stakeholders at County and regional levels who mobilized resources quickly to support the relocation of the elderly residents living at this unlicensed facility. Cases such as this raise many questions and concerns, and the Township will cooperate with the various agencies responsible for investigating this situation within their respective legislative mandates.
I will also be seeking Council's support in writing a letter to the Province in order to ensure that this situation does not occur again. I wish to request an explanation and/or investigation into how this facility could operate under these conditions without proper approvals and how we can help implement, facilitate, or streamline processes so that this situation never repeats itself in our community.
Yours truly,
Pierre Leroux
Mayor