Private seniors’ residences in Quebec, RPAs, get three more years to install sprinklers

Private residences for seniors in Quebec, known as RPAs, that are still not equipped with sprinklers will have three more years than originally planned to install them.

Quebec is once again postponing the coming into force of this obligation – originally scheduled for 2020.

The Minister responsible for Seniors and Minister for Health, Sonia Bélanger, confirmed on Thursday that a third postponement had been granted to RPA owners to install sprinklers, saying she wanted to “limit the number of RPAs that might have to cease operations if they don’t comply with regulatory requirements.”

The financial assistance program designed to support RPA owners in this transition will also be improved.

In the wake of the L’Isle-Verte tragedy, where a fire at the Résidence du Havre on Jan. 23, 2014, claimed the lives of 32 seniors, the provincial government had announced that all but the very smallest RPAs would have to install sprinklers by Dec. 2, 2020.

However, the deadline was extended once, to Dec. 2, 2022, and again, to Dec. 2, 2024. Under Thursday’s announcement, the new mandatory date is Dec. 2, 2027.

In a press release, Bélanger’s office acknowledged that it is mainly small RPAs that are struggling to install sprinklers, as they are faced with a “labour shortage and (rising) operating costs due to inflation.”

“I’m sensitive to the reality of small RPAs. Closures must be avoided at all costs, as they have a significant and direct impact on residential supply,” said Bélanger.

“I salute the RPAs that quickly complied. We will continue to work with the various RPAs not equipped with sprinklers to ensure that they are by the new deadline, in particular with the support of the subsidy program.”

According to the most recent data provided by Bélanger’s office, 72 per cent of RPAs are currently equipped with sprinklers, and of the 363 RPAs that have yet to install them, 271 are in the process of doing so.

The majority of RPAs not yet sprinklered are 30 rental units or less, the Minister’s office noted.

To help RPA owners with this transition, the assistance program will be increased to $300,000 for RPAs with an artesian well water supply. This increase will be retroactive for RPAs that comply early, we have been informed.

What’s more, the subsidy amounts associated with sprinkler installation and relaying to the municipal water system will be decompartmentalized, which Québec believes will provide greater flexibility and agility in program management.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews