Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

MUSKOKA — With the Muskoka hospitals rebuild plan just over a year old, 2025 is the start of the third year of study and consideration.

And Bruce Kruger, who has been following and has championed a fight for South Muskoka Memorial Hospital, is not giving up.

He still has grave concerns regarding the entire project, which he describes in a letter saying “…downfalls of MAHC’s conduct have been an affront to the citizens of Muskoka without justification.”

He accuses the hospital board members as being “deceptive.”

And though he has been left to come to varying terms on the number of beds, the former chair of the Save Our Hospital Group is now focused on Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare’s site selection for south Muskoka.

While MAHC has submitted its proposal to province and has begun talks with Ministry of Health planning officials, Kruger has penned a letter to Health Minister Sylvia Jones and c.c.’d Premier Doug Ford, MPP Graydon Smith and most everyone he thinks will help him fight what he claims is a flawed process especially regarding the disregard of the once favoured site selection on Muskoka Beach Road on the border between Bracebridge and Gravenhurst.

Kruger sets out what he calls many “errors” he claims skewed the process and that will negatively impact the outcome of health care in Muskoka and specifically south Muskoka.

His letter also claims MAHC may operate a gravel pit on extra land on Pine Street and buy land from the Bracebridge Fairgrounds in addition to property from the nearby Catholic school board.

He sent the following lengthy, detailed letter based on his observations of the past year attending public meetings and meetings he’s had in private with key players in the lingering saga as it heads toward estimated early 2032 openings and conclusion.

In it the letter he concludes telling Jones: “I strongly urge a full investigation be under into the makeup, conduct and selection process of the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare Board’s members and operations and the highly questionable property acquisition for the Bracebridge Hospital. Should there be any egregious findings, that swift action be undertaken against the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare to correct these matters.”

A copy of the letter he sent, below, was provided to MuskokaTODAY.com — and which we print in its entirety unedited and unverified as we believe it is relevant and warrants full and more further consideration as some of it appears in part very valid and — even more provides some startling new insider information. Much of it, however, we have reported exhaustively the past year. For these purposes alone — and that it is now on public record with the province — the letter serves and deserves as a reminder of just some of what transpired in Muskoka hospital health care in 2023, 2024 and now 2025.

Dear Minister Jones:

Re: Serious Concerns Over Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare’s Failure to Disclose Critical Errors Regarding the Future Bracebridge Hospital Site Selection

1. Initial Complaint Against the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) Board of Directors:

I was the former Chair, “Save South Muskoka Hospital Committee,” however, I must emphasize that I am sharing the following information strictly on my own volition and not as a representative of any group or organization.

The divisive conduct of MAHC as previously emphasized by His Worship Rick Maloney, Mayor of Bracebridge, and concerns expressed by The Honourable Graydon Smith, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, are indicative of the outrage expressed by thousands of citizens within South Muskoka Hospital region.

Additionally, I point out MAHC’s methods of operations have been extremely deceptive, much completed in complete secrecy, failing to disclose land considerations that seriously jeopardize the actual construction of the new hospital and growth of this community. MAHC improperly recommended land to be purchased by the Town of Bracebridge that is unfit to build upon, possibly placing upwards of one hundred million dollars to be spent needlessly.

As this document will disclose, many other downfalls of MAHC’s conduct have been an affront to the citizens of Muskoka without justification. We had depended upon a fair, thoroughly researched presentation provided in a timely fashion by MAHC; this has not occurred.

1. Serious Concern of Improprieties of Bracebridge Site Selection and Land Acquisition:

Although I acknowledge that the physicians of South Muskoka Hospital have agreed upon forty-six (46) beds for the accepted model, my comments are not an attempt to re-address this issue to increase the of bed allotments. I wish to outline, however, the serious implications created, should the hospital in Bracebridge be built at the Pine Street location owned by the Town of Bracebridge.

It will not only be at significant cost to the taxpayer, but it fails to meet the standards outlined by the Ministry of Health, thus further inhibiting future growth surrounding the new hospital. Additionally, MAHC fails to properly meet the goals for opportunities of residential and commercial development in that area as recommended by the Ministry.

2. Overview:

I shall highlight several serious issues that have not been disclosed to the public nor to many past and current members of the Bracebridge Town Council and presumably neighbouring municipal civilian and elected officials.

The land donated to the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare by the Town of Bracebridge at 300 Pine Street site has substantial and fundamental flaws. After reviewing the site selection process, several serious concerns have come to light that will adversely affect this community for generations, if not addressed now.

I had the opportunity to discuss this matter with Mr. David Murray, Medcura consultant hired by the Town of Bracebridge. After presenting my remarks to him, he requested that I submit my comments to him with any alternative ideas regarding land selection. While he acknowledged receipt of my input, Mr. Murray noted, however, that much of the information I provided was outside the scope of his mandate for the council’s report. I therefore submit this crucial information directly to your Ministry of Health and for public information.

3. History of Bracebridge Land Selection:

Land selection started several years ago, with a public request from Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare for hospital site submissions, resulting in five potential sites identified for the new Bracebridge Hospital. The two final locations recommended were:

1. 300 Pine Street, Bracebridge – Owned by the Town of Bracebridge
2. 1975 Muskoka Beach Road, Bracebridge – Owned by Muskoka Royale Development Inc.

In 2016 – 2017, the Town of Bracebridge worked with Fowler Construction to secure 300 Pine Street as a potential site for a future hospital. Fowler Construction, (then – president Moreen Miller) agreed to reserve the property for the town, granting them the first option to buy it should another offer come in.

If MAHC deemed the site suitable, the town would purchase it outright for the hospital. This land, however, was sold by Fowler to the Town in June 2023 despite no other pursers of the land. Later that year, Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare, (then chair, Moreen Miller), formerly of Fowler Construction, confirmed its selection as the new site for the Bracebridge hospital following due diligence. It later came to light, unfortunately, that the second phase of due diligence on the Pine Street property did not occur for reasons that remain unclear.

In December 2023, the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) identified a 40-acre site at 300 Pine Street in Bracebridge as the new hospital site. This property, purchased from Fowler Construction on June 23, 2023, is now owned by the Town of Bracebridge. It is located directly east of Highway 11 (though it has no direct access to Hwy #11), adjacent to Walmart commercial lands to the north, a residential area and Catholic school to the west, and J.D. Lang Park to the south.

The topography of the Pine Street site significantly limits the usable land donated by the Town, resulting in an area far less than the required forty acres of “useable land” mandated by the Ministry of Health. For reasons that are unclear, Fowler Construction chose not to extend the Town’s first right of refusal to acquire the land after waiting several years with this clause in effect.

This decision by Fowler appears to have prompted the Town of Bracebridge to expedite the outright purchase of the property in June 2023 for $1.3 million prior to the completion of the second due diligence that had been required. MAHC had previously informed the Town that the site would meet the hospital’s building requirements; however, this information was erroneous as the land does not comply with the minimum requirements set by the Ministry of Health.

In April 2023, Moreen Miller, then chair of the MAHC Board, along with Cheryl Harrison, CEO, and the Capital Redevelopment Committee, announced that the preferred site for development was 1975 Muskoka Beach Road, rather than 300 Pine Street, which was one of five potential options.

This raises several questions: Why did MAHC initially announce the site owned by Muskoka Royale Development Inc to be chosen, if they were aware that the 2^nd due diligence at Pine Street had not been completed? Furthermore, how could they confirm 300 Pine Street as the selected site, knowing it did not meet Ministry standards, nor had the required second due diligence been undertaken?

What prompted the sudden decision to shift from the more suitable property at 1975 Muskoka Beach Road previously announced to the less favourable location at 300 Pine Street?

4. Engineering Report by Urban Strategies Inc. (USI) and Stantec:

The Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) consulting companies, Urban Strategies Inc. (USI) and Stantec announced the initial site preferred for the hospital was at 1975 Muskoka Beach Road. MAHC later advised that the final site was to be at 300 Pine Street. MAHC advised the change occurred after the required due diligence had been conducted at Muskoka Beach Road. MAHC refuses to divulge the engineering report to substantiate any reasons for this divergence.

Why would USI/Stantec make an announcement of this magnitude involving such a major decision as the site selection, if MAHC did not recognize that 1975 Muskoka Beach Road was superior to 300 Pine Street and especially knowing the second due diligence hadn’t been commenced at 300 Pine Street?

George Chen, of Muskoka Royale Development Inc. has consistently stated that the USI/Stantec report suggests levelling the hill at the Pine Street site for construction would cost MAHC between $50 million and $180 million before any building could commence.

Although MAHC initially strongly disputed this claim, it was finally addressed during a meeting that I attended on July 22, 2024, with current Chair David Uffelmann, CFO Alasdair Smith, CEO/President Cheryl Harrison and two others board members.

When questioned, Mr. Smith insisted that this estimate was not written, referred to, nor included in the Stantec report. Later, this MAHC Chief Financial Officer finally conceded that the Urban Strategies Inc. and the Stantec engineer responsible for the report had indeed, verbally confirmed the accuracy of Mr. Chen’s estimate of $50 – $180 million to prepare the grounds was true!

I point out that the savings of between $50 – $180 million dollars for not levelling part of the hill would result in a saving of a minimum $100 million dollars. Construction of additional hospital beds in a new build is stated to be $2.5 million per bed. This saving alone by not developing Pine Street, equates into the cost of forty beds. Why is MAHC insisting upon utilizing a totally inappropriate piece of property to build our hospital, wasting millions of dollars?

Mr. Smith downplayed this concern, stating that MAHC does not intend to fully prepare the site for future construction. They would only spend the amount needed for the current design for thirty-one beds, short of the 46 beds currently designated.

Notably, MAHC is currently exploring the purchase of adjacent land to ensure enough space for the hospital without needing to fill the large pit on the selected site at 300 Pine Street. Why was the full truth not divulged to the public that the selected land required more land to be purchased?

By withholding this crucial financial information, MAHC has severely impeded informed decision-making among political leaders and the public. This lack of transparency also hampers the Ministry of Health’s ability to accurately evaluate the suitability of the Pine Street property for future involvement.

The potential costs associated with developing the land for future hospital expansions, including medical residences, research facilities, and day care would be prohibitive, yet MAHC has failed to disclose this critical aspect of their land selection process.

In these discussions I attended on Sept 01, 2024, MAHC indicated that it would not invest between $50 million and $180 million on the proposed site. Instead, they plan to allocate approximately $30 million to prepare the land for a plan that currently involves a configuration of thirty-one beds (not 46 beds currently agreed upon). This approach appears to prioritize the limited size of the property over the actual needed beds for the community.

When asked if MAHC would consider another section of the 800-acre Muskoka Beach Road property, MAHC stated that they had already selected their site at 300 Pine Street (Fowler site) in December 2023 and would not entertain alternative options, including other suitable areas within the 1975 Muskoka Beach Road property.

This refusal by MAHC was in spite of the opportunity for the Town and MAHC to receive $20 million incentive in direct benefits from Royale Muskoka Development Inc.

During a meeting I had with MAHC on March 11, 2024, then-chair Moreen Miller indicated that she would provide the USI/Stantec report justifying their choice of the 300 Pine Street site, but only if Mr. Chen agreed to permit MAHC to release all joint communications to the public regarding 1975 Muskoka Beach Road.

I sought Mr. Chen’s agreement to this proposal, and he promptly accepted in writing to Ms. Miller’s proposition on March 22, 2024. Shortly thereafter, however, Miller retracted her offer, citing alleged advice from the Ministry of Health against releasing the information. This secretive conduct has continued MAHC’s non-disclosure policy.

5. Potential Land Expenses Deliberately Not Released to Public:

On July 22, 2024, I met with five members of MAHC, including chair David Uffelmann, CEO/President Cheryl Harrison, and CFO Alasdair Smith. During this meeting, MAHC presented several disturbing facts about the Bracebridge site selection, which indicated that 300 Pine Street is not a suitable location for the hospital.

For instance, MAHC had not revealed that land preparation to provide forty acres of useable land on the donated Pine Street lands will cost possibly in the range of $50- $180 million taxpayer dollars. This amount is required just to cut the large hill to prepare the land for building.

I point out that the savings of between $50 – $180 million dollars for MAHC by not levelling part of future the hill would result in more than sufficient beds made available to satisfy both Huntsville and Bracebridge needs. Construction of these additional hospital beds in a new build is stated to be $2.5 million per bed. This saving alone by not developing Pine Street, equates into the cost of forty additional beds. Why is MAHC insisting upon utilizing a totally inappropriate piece of property to build our hospital, wasting millions of dollars?

6. Additional Land Acquisition(s) Required at 300 Pine Street:

It is astounding that MAHC is now attempting to acquire additional adjoining properties, including a northern parcel from the Catholic District School Board, for the proposed Bracebridge Hospital.

Additional land acquisition(s) are now required to augment the Pine Street location. The massive potential costs to redevelop 300 Pine Street will take millions of dollars away from funds that should be spent on paying for the hospital bed numbers in Bracebridge: not filling in a pit!

For months, MAHC consistently denied that this vast amount was incorrect, each time the issue was raised at public meetings. Since then, however, MAHC now admits that the extreme millions of dollars as alleged by Royale Muskoka Development Inc. in fact, may will be the actual costs should they utilize all of the property on Pine Street to build upon. This was verbally verified by a Stantec/Urban Development engineer.

7. Hospital May Require a Portion of D. Lang Park:

At this same meeting I attended, MAHC mentioned they are exploring the possibility of securing a part of J.D. Lang Park to the south of Pine Street to address the lack of building space at Pine Street. This will take cherished parkland from our citizens. To my knowledge, the community is not aware of any request from MAHC to utilize our parklands for the hospital’s construction.

Furthermore, the existence of a tall rocky hill and a large pit with a variance of 30 meters (100 feet) renders proper development of 300 Pine Street exceedingly impractical. This raises questions about whether this site, intended to be donated by the Town of Bracebridge, should truly be considered the preferred option since it still requires additional properties to be purchased to join with 300 Pine Street to meet Ministry standards of land.

The MAHC Board of Directors failed to reveal that in order to construct the hospital they will need to acquire additional property beside 300 Pine Street to meet the Ministry’s requirement of forty acres of “usable” land. MAHC is currently attempting to purchase additional land beside 300 Pine Street, since they realize the hospital cannot be built completely on the Town of Bracebridge donated site without extreme additional millions of dollars.

The usable acreage at 300 Pine Street falls significantly short of the Health Ministry’s requirements for a new hospital. The property contains a tall rocky hill and a large rock pit, rendering much of the land unusable. Consequently, MAHC is currently pursuing the acquisition of additional land adjacent to 300 Pine Street. The great difficulty created by the pit plus MAHC attempting to purchase additional lands has never been disclosed to the public, keeping in mind all negotiations and any associated costs have not been made public.

It is important to note that MAHC has already announced Pine Street as the final hospital site in Bracebridge, despite the necessity of still having to obtain additional land to meet Ministry standards. MAHC has not yet completed this process; they do not have assurance of the ability to purchase the additional lands required; nor has MAHC conducted the required due diligence on the future lands that must be purchased.

How could MAHC announce that this property at Pine Street is suitable when it clearly is not? Again, I ask, is MAHC designing a smaller hospital for Bracebridge in order to move forward on the restricted grounds?

8. MAHC May Create a Landfill Site at 300 Pine Street:

I was shocked to hear Mr. Smith, the CFO, propose that MAHC might seek a license to operate a landfill at the Pine Street property to fill in the large pit for future development. He claimed this could help address Muskoka’s landfill shortage! I didn’t realize that MAHC was more interested in assisting District land fill needs rather than addressing healthcare requirements!

This complete situation is alarming to suggest constructing hospital facilities on land that could contain mixed, unstable, landfill materials. This huge lack of transparency underscores serious concerns about the measures Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare is considering. It highlights the unsuitability of the Pine Street site and raises significant worries about potential financial burdens on taxpayers, both now and for future generations.

Such misleading proposals fail to acknowledge the true inappropriateness of the Pine Street site due to its large pit.

9. Advantages of Property at 1975 Muskoka Beach Road for New Hospital:

The previous Gravenhurst Council had favoured Muskoka Beach Road, which was also initially recommended by MAHC’s engineering firms, USI/Stantec. As noted, MAHC has unfortunately, consistently refused to release their report on this matter.

The advantage of 1975 Muskoka Beach Road is its proximity to offer the 40 acres of flat land studied for the new Bracebridge hospital, where there are more than 50 acres of vacant land suitable for a “Campus of Continuum of Care”. Muskoka Royale advised that they planned to build long term care homes, 24-hour childcare centre for hospital staff, training facilities for healthcare professionals and residence for new recruits of hospital who relocate from out of town.

MAHC has asserted that the 1975 Muskoka Beach Road site contains designated “Provincial Significant Wetlands (PSW),” which limits its potential uses. Mr. Chen, the principal shareholder of Muskoka Royale, disputes this claim and has requested the release of the USI/Stantec report to support his position.

There should be no barriers to MAHC being transparent on this matter, and therefore the report should be released without delay. In view of the questionable conduct and decisions made by MAHC, it is incumbent upon MAHC to finally stop their deceptive conduct and fully disclose the truthfulness of the actual situation of site selection.

Initially, Muskoka Royale proposed selling their land to MAHC, but later offered to donate the forty (40) acres instead from its 800-acre property. MAHC was advised that they could choose any location for the hospital on this land, except for any area currently being developed for educational development. This land donation was valued at approximately $10 million. Mr. George Chen also offered to donate $10 million in cash if the hospital was built on the Muskoka Royale property. This is a package deal worth $20 million dollars towards the hospital and would greatly reduce the Town’s commitment of public tax funds.

In January 2024, MAHC’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Alistair Smith, stated that this late offer by Muskoka Royale and Mr. Chen, fell outside the bidding window, albeit, by just a few days. Given the substantial combined value of $20 million savings to the Town of Bracebridge, one must question why this site was rejected because of just a few days variance in time requirements that affects no other companies or landowners.

At that point, the Muskoka Royale property would only be competing with the Town’s property, which would significantly enhance the community’s contribution to the hospital costs by $20 million. The Town would still have an additional $10 million to allocate towards the local share, totalling $30 million which included a buy back for the Pine Street property, if accepted. (see below)

10. Offer to Purchase 300 Pine Street by Royale Muskoka Development Inc. & Donation of Parkland:

To further incentivize the Town, on September 1, 2024, Mr. Chen representing Royale Muskoka Development Inc. sent a letter to Mayor Rick Maloney proposing to purchase the land at 300 Pine Street. This would relieve the Town of this property that would not be utilized by the Town if it was not to be used as the hospital site. Mr. Chen offered to reimburse Bracebridge for the full cost of the Pine Street land acquisition and cover all legal expenses incurred by the Town related to the Pine Street purchase (see attached letter).

Additionally, Mr. Chen expressed his intention to donate a portion of the Pine Street land back to the Town to establish a public park for the residents of Bracebridge in that area.

For me to be upfront and completely transparent, I must point out that Mr. Chen hopes to benefit economically from the hospital’s construction on his land. I share this information clearly, so citizens understand that such land donations and incentives are common among developers in local community developments. Similar precedents in Bracebridge have included land donations by Mattamy Homes for the high school’s donated location. More recently, land contributions donated for the arena and library were made by developers and businesspeople.

11. Costs of Utilities and Services Highly Questionable as Claimed by MAHC:

MAHC asserted that the cost of providing utilities, services, and roads to the 1975 Muskoka Beach Road site would be significantly higher for taxpayers than servicing the 300 Pine Street (Fowler Site). Contradictory information was provided by Mr. Donald Currie, the former head of the Bracebridge Water and Sewer Department, who managed the amalgamated District Water and Sewer Department until his retirement.

He stated that developing the Pine Street site would actually be much more expensive than the Muskoka Beach Road location, estimating that preparing Muskoka Beach Road could cost as little as one-quarter of what would be required for the Pine Street site. What study has MAHC procured of this matter and have not released, for a sense of their transparency?

MAHC has claimed that the railway overpass limits ambulance access to the Muskoka Beach Road site. This information is also erroneous; the issue can be alleviated by constructing a planned access road to the hospital located 300 meters to the north on Hwy 118 W which had already been investigated. Additionally, the approved Bracebridge Westerly By-Pass will greatly enhance access to the Muskoka Beach Road hospital site for residents in the western areas of the MAHC region.

There are concerns, however, expressed by EMS personnel about emergency vehicle access to the Pine Street site via Depot Way. Emergency responders would have to navigate past entrances to several major businesses, including Home Depot, Tim Hortons, and Walmart, as well as numerous smaller establishments. This area is already congested, which could impede emergency response times. Moreover, the second entrance on Pine Street runs through a residential neighbourhood, also posing potential risks for emergency services.

12. Future Development of Hospital, Residential and Commercial Restricted:

The tremendous limitations of this donated land at 300 Pine Street by the Town of Bracebridge to MAHC, will significantly restrict the future development of the new hospital and growth within our complete town for generations.

The unsuitability of the Pine Street property is seriously detrimental to the future growth of the hospital, restricting hospital additions, preventing construction of ancillary medical facilities, labs, research centre, childcare facilities, medical residences, etc. Huntsville already has availability for these future potential developments on their town’s selected lands.

There are no reasonable expectations nor sufficient areas at Pine Street for viable expansion of additional commercial and residential homes in the immediate area as recommended by the Ministry for hospital locations.

13. Recommendations:

Minister Jones, I outline my key recommendations and comments below that I urge you to please consider:

14. The current recommendation by the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare for the preferred hospital site at 300 Pine Street in Bracebridge be immediately rescinded.
15. A thorough investigation be undertaken of the financial implications related to site preparation at Pine Street in order to determine the true and full costs of the Pine Street location including the rock pit concerns, utilities/services expenses, need for additional lands and possible attempt to acquire public parkland from J.D. Lang Park.
16. MAHC must be dissuaded from proceeding further until an independent appraiser/engineer’s report determines the soundness of the MAHC selected site, especially before further needless funds are spent on additional sites adjoining Pine St site.
17. Will future construction for various associated medical needs be scuttled by the land limitations at Pine Street? Are there sufficient lands available for recommended growth by the Ministry of Health ensuring commercial and residential areas nearby are assured?
18. David Murray, Medcura, Town of Bracebridge’s consultant asked for my opinion of where an alternative hospital site might be located instead of 300 Pine Street. I advised him that 1975 Muskoka Beach Road site (Muskoka Royale Development Inc.), should be recognized as an acceptable alternative because:
    1. 1975 Muskoka Bch Road site was the original preferred site by MAHC
    2. The property would be provided at no expense to the Town – Donated value – $10 million
    3. An additional $ 10 million dollars to be donated by the owner, Mr. George Chen
    4. Chen would purchase the Pine Street site from the town alleviating all costs to Bracebridge citizens with substantial savings for the Town, providing the town to have the full amount to donate back into the fair share portion without raising future taxes specially for this.
    5. A separate land donation at Pine Street to the Town of Bracebridge for a future park would become a reality.
    6. This Muskoka Beach site was preferred by the former Gravenhurst Council,
    7. MAHC has already canvassed all of Bracebridge for any other suitable sites with none contemplated/available.
19. Closing Comments:

Minister Jones, I strongly urge a full investigation be under into the makeup, conduct and selection process of the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare Board’s members and operations and the highly questionable property acquisition for the Bracebridge Hospital. Should there be any egregious findings, that swift action be undertaken against the Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare to correct these matters.

Best regards,

Bruce Kruger, Bracebridge

See George Chen letter attachment from Sept. 1, 2024, below.