“The first cochlear implant in Canada was performed by Dr Melvin Schloss at the Montreal Children’s Hospital in the early 1980s. In 1987, under a government mandate to concentrate the expertise of this emerging ear surgery, l’Hôtel Dieu de Québec and the Institut de réadaptation en déficience physique de Québec (IRDPQ) joined forces and founded the Québec Cochlear Implant program. For more than 30 years, Quebec City was the sole site where cochlear implant surgeries could be performed. It ensured that expertise was developed in the use of this new technology.”