It was nearly a year ago, in the middle of winter, that just hours after giving birth, Annie Calamia was wheeled into a private postpartum room at the Maissoneuve-Rosemont hospital — one that she agreed to pay $176 for.
She says she was expecting a calm, comfortable recovery, but instead felt like she stepped into a danger zone.
“We got into the room and I said, ‘It’s freezing in here, I think the window’s open,’” said Calamia. “So my boyfriend went to the window, closed it and every time the wind blew, it blew the window open. So we said, ‘OK, I think it’s broken.’”
Calamia says she immediately raised concerns, flagging the issue to nurses and even a doctor.
She says she asked to be moved — even if it meant sharing a room — but was told the maternity ward was full.
“You don’t want to be in a room where you don’t feel safe. And that’s exactly what happened to us,” she said. “And I thought it was very shocking and it was a public health issue that they couldn’t provide that to women and to babies who are just born.”
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
After she was discharged, Calamia says she immediately began to take steps to contest the bill, before even receiving it.
She was told that since she chose a private room and occupied it, she had to pay for it, she says. She contested the decision and even contacted the Quebec Ombudsman, without any success.
“They told me that I could contact a lawyer and do some legal procedures, which is very expensive and I realized that I had no other option than to contact the media and just getting the word,” she said.
In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson for the CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal apologized for the situation, adding that the window has since been fixed.
“Although the review of the complaint did not find any non-compliance in the billing, we remain sensitive to the situation that the patient says she experienced. We will ensure that the user does not have to pay the $176 fee out of pocket,” it added.
After years of mounting pressure and criticism, last fall the 10-year renovation project finally began at the Maissoneuve-Rosemont hospital.
The hospital had made headlines for years over its run-down facilities and aging infrastructure.
Patrick Martin-Ménard, a medical malpractice lawyer, says he unfortunately hears about situations like this far too often.
He adds that staying silent only allows them to continue.
“There seems to be a certain mindset in the health-care system, thinking that these things aren’t really important — that the patient’s comfort and satisfaction isn’t important,” he said. “What is important is delivering the service, at the bare minimum. And that mindset permeates a lot of the health care given in Quebec.
“And that’s a problem. That’s a mindset that has to change.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.