Liberals also file ethics complaint against David Piccini after auditor general report raises red flags about Skills Development Fund
Just over half (52%) of Ontarians believe that Labour Minister David Piccini should resign or be removed from Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet because of an “ongoing stream of scandals” surrounding the government’s Skills Development Fund (SDF).
That’s according to an Abacus Data poll commissioned by CUPE Ontario, which also found 28 per cent of Ontarians said he should continue in his role.
“Calls for accountability are only growing louder,” said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn, suggesting Piccini has used the SDF “as a slush fund to benefit insider friends.”
The poll follows a report by auditor general Shelley Spence that raised concerns about how the $2.5-billion Skills Development Fund (SDF) has been managed. Spence found that Piccini’s office had been heavily involved in choosing projects for funding and that money was allocated to lower-ranked applicants without documentation explaining why higher-ranked proposals were passed over.
Liberal Party files complaint
In addition, the Ontario Liberal Party has filed a complaint. MPP Stephanie Smyth, Critic for Ethics, Integrity & Accountability, asked the Integrity Commissioner to investigate whether Piccini violated the Members’ Integrity Act or breached parliamentary convention in administering the Skills Development Fund (SDF).
“What Ontarians deserve to know is whether the minister used his office to benefit a friend or donor — and that is exactly what the Integrity Commissioner should be investigating,” she said.
“This government isn’t tracking the jobs it claims to create or whether projects meet their targets. They’re funding low-ranked applicants who fail to deliver while more deserving projects are ignored. It’s a racket — and we intend to expose it,” said Smyth.
Central to the complaint is a photograph showing Piccini at an event with the director of Keel Digital Solutions, a company that later received millions in grants. CTV News reported that Piccini also attended the wedding of a lobbyist for the same company.
“This minister should be fired, and we are all calling on the premier to fire him today,” Smyth said at a news conference.
Auditor general report on SDF
The auditor general’s report found that while the application-selection processes are in compliance with provincial policies, program objectives and publicly released guidance, 549 (54%) of the applications selected by the minister’s office and approved for funding were ranked as “poor,” “low” or “medium” against the stated program objectives and other program criteria.
“These applications received about $742 million, or 56%, of the funding provided to SDF applicants over the SDF’s first five rounds.”
On the other hand, there were 670 applications that ranked “high” that were not selected for funding.
“The selection process was therefore not fair, transparent or accountable, and there was little rationale to explain why the high-ranked applicants were not chosen,” said the report.
Lower-scoring applicants approved for funding
Spence also found that more than 60 lower-scoring applicants were approved after they hired lobbyists. Some funding recipients were unions that had endorsed the Progressive Conservatives in past elections or individuals who had donated to the party.
As well, 39 high-ranked applications that were selected by the Minister’s Office, and received roughly $58 million in funding, had also hired lobbyists.
According to the auditor, there was also a lack of justification for some approvals.
“In Rounds 1 and 2 of the SDF, the Minister’s Office did not share a documented reason for why it selected the 388 funded applications, which collectively received $479 million in funding.
“Starting in Round 3, the Minister’s Office documented reasons why the Minister’s Office had selected individual applications. At times, the reasons provided by the Minister’s Office conflicted with Ministry staff’s evaluation of the selected applications.”
