A growing political scandal is unfolding at Queen’s Park, centred on Ontario’s $2.5-billion Skills Development Fund and the conduct of the minister responsible for it. Immigration Minister David Piccini is under intense pressure to resign following allegations of inappropriate ties to lobbyists, criticism from the auditor general, and a forensic audit now handed to the Ontario Provincial Police for potential investigation.
The Skills Development Fund provides grants to organizations to help address labour shortages and train workers. However, a special report released in October by Auditor General Shelley Spence found serious flaws in how $1.3 billion of that funding was distributed. She said the process lacked fairness, transparency and accountability, and raised concerns that political influence may have shaped which projects received money.
According to the audit, more than half of the projects approved by Piccini’s office were ranked by public servants as poor, low or medium in meeting the fund’s criteria. Those projects accounted for $742 million in funding across the program’s first five rounds. The auditor also flagged that 64 of the lower-ranked projects had hired registered lobbyists, creating what she called the appearance of “real or preferential treatment.” Similar funding programs in other provinces do not allow ministers to make direct funding decisions.
Piccini has firmly defended both the program and his hands-on role in selecting recipients. He maintains that elected officials should have the final say on where the money goes, especially as labour market needs shift. While he says he accepts the auditor’s recommendations, he has not committed to removing himself or his staff from the approval process. Premier Doug Ford has also stood by the minister, brushing off calls for his dismissal.
Opposition parties — the NDP, Liberals and Greens — say the fund has become a vehicle for rewarding political allies and organizations connected to well-placed lobbyists. NDP Leader Marit Stiles accused the government of turning labour policy into “favours,” and Liberal Leader John Fraser has called for a full forensic audit and complete transparency around how the grants are awarded.
At the heart of the controversy is a question of public trust: whether billions of taxpayer dollars intended to help unemployed Ontarians find work are being directed where they are most needed, or whether political considerations are tipping the scales. With nearly 700,000 people in Ontario currently unemployed, critics argue the stakes are too high for the government to ignore the fund’s shortcomings — and they are demanding data to prove it is delivering real results.
