GBPH Board Chair Asks Ontario's Top Doctor & Ministry of Health to Retract 'Inaccurate and Unfair Allegation'
Nicholas Saunders, chair of the beleaguered Grey Bruce Public Health board, requests the province retract a statement that he unilaterally attempted to remove municipal representatives from the board.
Nicholas Saunders, chair of the board for Grey Bruce Public Health, says he does not expect an apology from the province. He has, however, requested that the Ministry of Health and specifically Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, retract a statement blaming him for the “unilateral” decision to remove all municipal representatives from the board.
Saunders submitted the request on August 25 to Moore, who issued a directive nearly two weeks ago giving himself “all of the powers of the board of health” in Grey-Bruce.
The letter was copied to a lengthy list of county, provincial, and federal representatives, including Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, and over a dozen First Nations agencies and representatives. It began:
“Given the Ministry’s acknowledgement this past Friday, we can now put to rest the inaccurate and unfair allegation that I unilaterally attempted to remove the municipal representatives from the Board of Health.”
~ Nicholas Saunders, a provincial appointee and chair of the GBPH board
According to Saunders, the province convened a virtual meeting on Friday, August 22, attended by all members of the Board of Health for Grey Bruce Public Health, Grey Bruce Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Arra, ministry advisor Jim Pine, and officials from the ministry’s Accountability and Liaison branch.
“During this meeting, Mr. Feeney acknowledged that I did not act unilaterally in issuing termination letters to municipal appointees but rather acted in coordination with him and others in your office,” Saunders wrote.
“Mr. Feeney’s candour and transparency were refreshing and very much appreciated. His admission on behalf of the Ministry of Health directly contradicts your August 14 correspondence and other public statements you have made,” he added.
Moore did not immediately respond to our request for confirmation of the August 22 meeting and what Saunders says transpired.
Recommended Board Changes Were Right, But Implementation ‘Misguided’: Saunders
Moore, in his directive, cited an assessor’s report prepared in December 2024 and issued to GBPH in July 2025. He said it found deficiencies in governance, structure, and communication on the local board, as well as “numerous examples of alleged non-compliance with the (Health Protection and Promotion) Act” and “failure by the Board of Health to ensure appropriate financial oversight of expenses.”
Moore also cited recent actions, including “The Chair’s attempt to unilaterally remove municipal representatives of the Board of Health without the authority to do so,” as rationale for seizing control of the board.
That simply isn’t true, says Saunders.
“The Chief MOH's findings were right. The health unit Board has been dysfunctional since 2023 and was getting worse every year,” he told The Owen Sound Current by email on Tuesday.
However, “How he (Moore) went about it with the July 18th Direction was completely misguided” for a couple of reasons, Saunders said, the first being that the change was implemented too quickly, as he was ordered to replace municipal members of the board “immediately.”
The Owen Sound Current has reviewed Dr. Moore’s July 18 directive to Saunders. The directive references the Ministry’s assessment report, which was to be shared with board members. Grey Bruce Public Health denied our Freedom of Information access request for that assessment report on August 21, citing section 9 of MFIPPA:
We are appealing that decision with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and have also requested the assessment report from Moore and Sylvia Jones, Minister of Health. They did not respond.
Moore’s accompanying letter of July 18 gave Saunders, as board chair, 30 days to respond to the assessment report in writing.
In that time, he was to produce the Board of Health’s action plan “detailing how the Board of Health will address the recommendations in the Report, the time frame in which recommendations will be rectified, with high-risk recommendations given priority” for the Ministry’s approval.
“I am requesting that the Board of Health take the following immediate actions,” Moore stated. “Implement a skills-based matrix for new Board of Health members… Work with the Counties of Bruce and Grey and the Ministry to immediately replace the municipal members on the Board of Health, with strong consideration for the appointment of non-elected municipal appointments.”
On August 6, Saunders sent a letter to all municipal representatives on the board notifying them of their termination. Municipal members were informed that the dismissal had been directed by the Chief Medical Officer of Health in his July 18 letter.
On August 11, in response to our questions, a representative for Minister of Health Sylvia Jones confirmed that GBPH had received the assessment report and was directed to submit a detailed plan to address its findings.
However, they said, “In the interim, we expect the Chair and all board members — both municipal and provincial — to work collaboratively to inform their response to the Chief Medical Officer’s report.”
It is unclear how the province expected the local board to immediately replace its municipal members with a skills-based board and report back, addressing all audit recommendations, within 30 days, with input from both counties, without dismissing the existing municipal members.
Now, Saunders is asking Moore to retract that August 14 statement that he alone decided to vacate the board of municipal representatives, and did so without the province’s authorization.
“When he realized that he messed up, he didn't own up to it,” Saunders explained. “Instead, he issued the second direction, took over the health unit (board), blamed it on me, and tried to make me a scapegoat.”
Saunders: The truth is in the Assessment Report
He also takes issue with the lack of transparency into the events of the past several weeks.
“Since July, the direction from the Chief MOH has strictly prevented me, the local MOH, and GBPH from sharing the assessment report,” Saunders said, adding that he was not allowed to respond to media inquiries on August 11 about why municipal members had been removed from the GBPH website. That, too, was directed by the province, he said.
“At the same time, his office sent you their version of the events,” Saunders added.
“What I would like to see happen is for the truth to come out. The truth is in the documents.” Saunders said that had it been up to the local board, “We would have posted the Assessment Report along with our Response Action Plan on our website today.”
Moore and Jones did not immediately respond to our questions about whether they plan to release information from the assessment report and the status of the ministry’s efforts to address concerns at GBPH.
Whether the result of miscommunication or misunderstanding, the dispute has fueled further scrutiny of Grey Bruce Public Health and contributed to the climate of embarrassment and dysfunction around its governance.
The Owen Sound Current will continue to follow this developing story.