2 men charged with fraud after probe into $300M St. Michael's Hospital redevelopment

Two Toronto men are facing multiple charges after Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say they carried out a "lengthy" investigation into a $300 million renovation project at a downtown Toronto hospital.

The men, aged 50 and 58, have been charged with fraud over $5,000 and offering or receiving secret commissions. One of the men has also been charged with fraud on government.

The charges are in connection with the redevelopment of St. Michael's Hospital.

In a news release on Thursday, the OPP said members of the Ontario Serious Fraud Office (SFO) arrested and charged the men.

The OPP said the St. Michael's Hospital project was approved for procurement in 2011 in co-ordination with Infrastructure Ontario. The OPP said the hospital and Infrastructure Ontario began the process to award the contract in December 2012.

"The SFO investigation has found evidence of fraud through the offering or receipt of secret commissions in the awarding of the contract in 2015," the OPP said in the release.

The Globe and Mail has written extensively about the project, including in this 2015 investigation.

Other police forces helped in the probe, OPP said.

These include the Barrie Police Service, York Regional Police, Peel Regional Police, Durham Regional Police and the RCMP. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada provided expertise, the OPP said.

The OPP said the SFO will not comment further because the investigation continues.