Opposition party leaders demand answers into Ontario labour minister’s deals

Ontario’s opposition party leaders are demanding answers as the fallout from a scathing auditor general report into Ontario’s Skills Development Fund deepens.

Labour Minister David Piccini defended himself in question period Tuesday, and Premier Doug Ford is standing by him.

While a company that received grants from the fund demands a provincial audit of its financial practices be made public, after the Ford government referred the matter to the Ontario Provincial Police.

“We have a risk assessment process for the Skills Development Fund program that I developed with the ministry where the deputy minister is able to de-select an applicant if they feel the risk of the project is too high,” Piccini said.

Piccini was on defense in the legislature Tuesday, blaming his own deputy minister as opposition parties continue their calls for his resignation.

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Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles says Piccini is deflecting blame.

“He’s blaming anybody and everybody and not taking responsibility himself,” Stiles said. “That minister needs to resign and they need to address this issue immediately.”

Liberal parliamentary leader John Fraser said “it’s unbelievable the minister still has his job.”

The issue stems from the auditor general report, which shows Piccini’s office has been heavily involved in picking the projects that receive money from the $2.5-billion Skills Development Fund – giving funding to applicants who bureaucrats say don’t best meet the program’s goals or criteria.

In the case of one applicant “Keel Digital Solutions,” the minister has said the company scored low on a suitability test for funding, and there are reports in the media that one of the company’s lobbyists is a close friend of Piccini.

Yesterday, Ford defended selecting applicants who scored lower, and said he would not release a 2023 routine audit of Keel Digital Solutions.

“The public service, once again, don’t have the opportunity to get in the field and talk to the frontline people,” he said.

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Last week the province said it was made aware of irregularities in that audit and referred it to the OPP, which says the anti-rackets branch is determining if a criminal investigation is warranted.

In a statement, Keel says it wants the audit released, and that it refers to a contract with the ministry of colleges to deliver mental health services for students, “blurring two separate things” to distract from a “self-inflicted mess.”

Ford says he won’t make the audit public now that it is in the hands of the police.

“Keel was repeatedly told by auditors that the process showed no irregularities or ‘red flags’,” Ford said. “An OPP referral is not a finding – anyone can refer to anything.”

The NDP say make the report public but the Liberals disagree.

“I don’t think the company should have a copy of the forensic audit.” said Fraser. “That’s not a right thing, if you put it public that’s what would happen.”

Opposition parties are also asking why Keel was given more government funding through the Skills Development Fund while it was the subject of an audit.

CHCH News reached out to Keel for an interview Tuesday but didn’t hear back from the company.

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