QUEBEC — The Quebec government is making it mandatory for all existing private seniors' homes to be equipped with automatic sprinklers.
Labour Minister Sam Hamad, who announced the move today, says the province is giving operators a five-year grace period to install them.
He adds the government will also provide up to $260 million in financial aid to help offset the heavy costs.
The measure applies to most seniors' residences, but Hamad says there are exceptions to the new rules.
The exceptions are seniors' homes that accommodate a maximum of nine people and facilities with only one floor that do not include more than eight lodgings.
Coroner Cyrille Delage called for the installation of sprinklers in all seniors' homes in his recent report into last year's deadly fire in L'Isle-Verte, Que., that killed 32 people.
