Jacques Turgeon, head of CHUM, resigns

The man who was supposed to oversee the opening of the new French-languagesuperhospital has resigned, Health Minister Gatan Barrette said Thursday.

Jacques Turgeon officially took over as chief executive officer of the Centre hospitalier de lUniversit de Montral (CHUM) in June 2014.

Turgeon, a PhD in Pharmacology who has held various positions at the Universit de Montral, was expected to serve a four-year term.

Barrette said Turgeon's resignation was a "surprise," but insisted the development wouldn't lead to delays in the project.

He cited political in-fighting born out of the merger of three different hospital cultures.

The CHUM is due to open next year.

Barrette said he expects calm to prevail and for the new hospital tobe free of inside battles.