Focus at hospital of Sherbrooke after a controversy over his firs

Marika Simard

Monday, December 11, 2017 16:29

UPDATE
Monday, December 11, 2017 16:34

Look at this article

SHERBROOKE | Accused by users of having removed the Christmas trees of the CHUS Fleurimont and Hôtel-Dieu de Sherbrooke, for cultural reasons, the direction of the CIUSSS of the eastern Townships wished to make a point on Monday.

During the last end of the week, a publication on the page Facebook of the trade Union of workers of the CHUS-CSN has captured the attention being shared more than 3,000 times. “Following several complaints of cultural communities, the fir trees will not be installed this year. Because for them, it means a religious sign, which is not the case,” read an excerpt from the message published on Friday.

The direction of the CIUSSS of the Estrie region has denied the information relayed on Facebook. “The engineers came to change the communications antennas on the roofs. They are the ones that we have been advised not to put christmas trees at this location for security reasons”, explained Annie-Andrée Émond, coordinator of communications of the CIUSSS, in an interview with TVA News.

The trees that were once installed on the roofs of the Hôtel-Dieu and the CHUS Fleurimont have been removed there are respectively three and five years. The employees were not trained nor equipped to install the bulbs, in particular.

The management has instead decided to use projectors bright with the colors of Christmas to illuminate the walls of the CHUS Fleurimont, while a natural tree has been installed in the central garden of the Hotel-Dieu.