‘This was his doing’: Board chair says provincial takeover of health unit not warranted

Citing “serious issues,” the province has imposed a supervisor on the health unit. CTV London’s Scott Miller tells the story.

Like they’ve recently done with seven Ontario school boards, the province has taken over the board overseeing Grey Bruce Public Health, citing “serious concerns” about how the health unit was being managed.

“Following multiple complaints regarding the board’s operations, finances and governance, the Chief Medical Officer of Health launched an independent review of the Grey Bruce Public Health Unit. The review identified serious concerns with the board’s ability to fulfill its responsibilities, including issues related to governance, leadership, financial management and human resources,” said Ema Popovic, Spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Health.

The Grey-Bruce Public Health Unit Board, along with Grey Bruce Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Ian Arra, now answer to Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore.

In a letter shared with CTV News by board chair, Nick Saunders, Dr. Moore says the Ministry’s investigation found the board had “a lack of stable leadership... lack of clear roles and responsibilities for members of the board and instances of poor communication and conflict among board members and staff. There were numerous examples of non-compliance with the Act and leading governance practices not being followed, including failure by the Board of Health to ensure appropriate financial oversight of expenses.” The letter was addressed to the Grey Bruce Board of Health, dated Aug. 14, 2025.

Citing privacy concerns, Health Board Chair, Nick Saunders wouldn’t go into specifics of exactly what “serious concerns” the province identified within Grey Bruce Public Health, but he doesn’t think the issues warranted a provincial takeover.

“I do not believe that it is at a level that Mr. Moore has to take over the board. Mr. Moore has created this problem,” said Grey Bruce Public Health Board Chair, Nick Saunders.

Saunders said he was first called into Dr. Moore’s office in Toronto in June, where he said Dr. Moore and his colleagues proceeded to “bad-mouth” Dr. Ian Arra, the current Grey-Bruce Medical Officer of Health.

Then in July, Dr. Moore presented the province’s assessment to Saunders and the rest of the 11 members on the Board of Health.

“Work with the Counties of Bruce and Grey and Ministry to immediately replace the municipal members on the Board of Health…” was amongst the immediate recommendations from the July 18th letter shared with CTV News by Saunders.

Saunders and the Board were given 30 days to come up with a plan to start addressing the province’s concerns.

On Aug. 6, 2025, Saunders starting doing just that, he thought, letting all 7 municipal representatives on the Grey Bruce Public Health Board go.

Then on Aug. 14, 2025, Dr. Moore sent a letter to Saunders and the Board, provided to CTV News by Saunders, saying he was taking charge, partly due to the “Chair’s attempt to unilaterally remove municipal representatives on the Board of Health without the authority to do so.”

“I have it in my email where it states that I am to immediately release all elected, appointed municipal appointees. It’s not fair to myself, as a newly elected chair, or the health unit, that he dumped this on my lap and says, ‘this is all your doing.’ Sorry, but, I’m not having any part of this. This was his doing,” said Saunders, who is also a councillor with the Chippewas of Nawash, Unceded First Nation.

Dr. Moore has since reinstated all municipal 7 councillors to the Grey-Bruce Public Health Board.

“Although the recent actions regarding the Board were unexpected, Bruce and Grey Counties appreciate the recent actions taken by the Ministry and we are reassured we have a path forward,” said Bruce County Warden, Luke Charbonneau, and Grey County Warden, Andrea Matrosovs.

Saunders, who currently remains Chair of the Grey Bruce Public Health Board, believes they could have solved their own issues without the province’s intervention and isn’t sure what toll this takeover will have on the future of Grey Bruce Public Health.

“Mr. Moore is putting a lot of undue stress on the communities and those within the health unit, because this is time being taken away from real serious work that needs to be done. Like, dealing with homelessness, dealing with the opioid crisis and dealing with mental health,” said Saunders.

The province says this is a temporary move, and all programs and services provided by Grey Bruce Public Health remain fully operational.

“This is an intervention specific to Grey Bruce Public Health. There are no planned changes to other boards of health. Ontario’s public health system continues to operate effectively, with strong local leadership and a deep commitment to community health,” said Dr. Moore, in an Aug. 14 news release.