Press releases

During a meeting of the Board of Trustees on March 10, 2009, Gilles Morin, Vice-President of Montfort Hospital’s Board of Trustees, announced that President and CEO Gérald Savoie would be retiring in October of this year. 

Mr. Savoie began his career in the hospital administration network in 1977, at the Hôtel-Dieu de Campbellton hospital in New Brunswick. Over the past 32 years, he has held several executive positions in New Brunswick, Québec and Ontario. Appointed Director General  of Montfort Hospital at the age of 33, Mr. Savoie made it his mission to transform the modest institution, built in 1953 to serve the Franco-Ontarian community, into a modern hospital centre offering all the latest specialized health care services.  

Gérald Savoie’s retirement signifies the end of a remarkable career. “Montfort Hospital is losing a pillar,” stated Gilles Morin. “He put his exemplary leadership, unmatched negotiation skills, personal dedication and undying passion to work for this hospital. Montfort Hospital should be proud to have had a leader of his stature, and it is with great sincerity that we all wish him a wonderful retirement; it’s well deserved,” he concluded.

Among his greatest achievements were the construction of the South Wing in 1992, the creation of a long-term care facility with 128 beds, the Consortium national de formation en santé, and the partnership with the Department of National Defence  for the creation of the Canadian Forces Health Services Centre.

In 1992, Mr. Savoie signed an affiliation agreement with the University of Ottawa, which was renewed in 2005, thus making Montfort Hospital a true teaching establishment.

From 1997 to 2002, he fought actively to keep Montfort Hospital alive. The result was a resounding success: the Court of Appeal of Ontario confirmed that Montfort is more than just a hospital and established that the hospital is an essential institution for the Franco Ontarian community. The Montfort ruling was a constitutional change of monumental importance to protect the rights of linguistic minorities in Canada; Mr. Savoie is leaving a great legacy for Franco-Ontarians.
 

Following that victory, Mr. Savoie worked hard to ensure Montfort received equitable funding and led the development of the New Montfort. The New Montfort is more than just bricks and mortar: it is a healing hospital, supported by the latest best practices. 

In 2005, he was appointed Chair of the French Language Health Services Working Group as part of the government’s major reform of the Ontario health care system. The new act governing the Ontario health care system reflects the key recommendations of the Savoie Report produced by the working group. The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care has since named him member of the very first provincial French-language health services advisory council, whose mandate is to advise the Minister on French-language health care issues.

In 2006, Mr. Savoie received the Government of Ontario’s first Prix de la francophonie. That same year, the University of Ottawa awarded him an honorary doctorate. He has also received the Trudeau Medal, the highest distinction offered by the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management. More recently, in February, he was named LeDroit/Radio Canada’s 2008 Person of the Year.

In order to find the best candidate to fill the position of President and Chief Executive Officer, the Board of Trustees has undertaken a recruitment process.