Letter Sent to the City of Montréal by Léon Lortie
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. Narrated by Jean-Robert Bonneau.
On October 14, 1952, Léon Lortie, then Secretary-Treasurer for the corporation of the Radium Institute, wrote a letter to Mr. Louis Lapointe, Director of Services of the City of Montréal:
In June of this year, I submitted a request on behalf of the Radium Institute regarding urgent repairs to the building which currently houses the Institute and is the property of the City of Montréal. As you probably know, no work has been done yet, and winter draws near, bringing its own set of problems.
The Institute depends on the charity of governments and the City of Montréal, who used to finance the Institute to the tune of $50,000.00 annually; a grant it no longer receives. Rest assured that in letting us use this building the city’s generosity, despite the absence of additional funding, is still deeply felt. However our current budget cannot support the expenses required by such necessary and urgent repairs. Our resources must be spent on charitable and scientific efforts. What is more, neglecting to repair the building would both deteriorate and depreciate the city’s own property.
Could you please, as soon as possible, bring to the attention of the executive board our past request, a request which I am formerly reiterating today? I have had the opportunity to speak to the mayor as well as Mr. Paul Dozois, who have both assured me that they would lend this issue the full interest and sympathy it deserves. I hope that the city will be able to repair the leaks in the roof, which threaten our hospitalized patients, as well as the sewers which are blocked by the roots of nearby aspen trees. Some further repairs are also needed to the stone cornice, from which blocks sometimes detach and fall, endangering the lives of visitors to the Institute. Most urgent are the roof repairs, which we hope can be completed before the start of the cold season delays them any further.
Please accept, Mr. Director, the assurance of my deepest consideration.
Léon Lortie, Secretary-Treasurer.