Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is “not getting rid” of his embattled labour minister as the government continues to defend its controversial skills development fund amidst growing pressure.
The training fund was the subject of an investigation by the auditor general last month, which found it was “not fair, transparent or accountable” in how it was handled.
Last week, the Ontario Provincial Police confirmed officers in its anti-rackets branch were looking at the findings of a forensic audit into a company the Ford government has given tens of millions to, including through the fund.
Opposition MPPs peppered Ford and David Piccini, his labour minister, with questions about the audit, the skills development fund and whether he would resign or be fired on Monday.
The premier passed the questions to Piccini and backbench Progressive Conservatives on Monday morning, but later told reporters he would stick by his man.
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“No, I’m not getting rid of him,” Ford said.
He said there may have been some issues with how money was handed out from the skills development fund, but remained steadfast in his claim the systems the government has in place are working.
“I never say no regrets,” Ford said. “If there’s a problem, that’s where the audit system comes in place, and we’re strong on the audit system. It shows that the audits work.”
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Ford’s critics have, for weeks, been calling for him to sack Piccini over the growing controversy.
“The problem isn’t with the fund — we need funding to go to training workers and retraining and skills development,” Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said.
“The problem is with the political interference that we have seen all along from this government, and unfortunately, the minister even admits to it, and yet he’s still standing there responding to questions. He should have resigned, and if he won’t resign, the premier should fire him.”
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The auditor general’s investigation found that the majority of applications selected were ranked low or medium by the Ministry of Labour and that more than 60 of the lower-scoring applicants were approved after hiring a lobbyist.
Piccini himself said he picked applications with lower scores to receive funding, defending the move as necessary to keep the fund nimble to the province’s changing employment needs.
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During question period on Monday, he said the premier’s office had not intervened in any of the decisions to award skills development funding.
Ford said that wasn’t a problem, likening it to delegating decisions to managers at a company.
“I’ve never believed, even in my private sector (days), in micromanaging each and every minister,” he said. “I believe in holding our ministers accountable like I’m being held accountable every day by the people of Ontario.”
One of the low-scoring applications Piccini stepped in to select was from Keel Digital Solutions, the company whose forensic audit the Ford government passed on to police.
Since 2021, an online mental health platform aimed at college and university students has received millions of dollars in funding from the Ford government.
Over the course of three years, the Get-A-Head organization was given roughly $20 million from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities before being flagged by ministry officials for a routine audit.
Get-A-Head was eventually acquired by Keel Digital Solutions and rebranded as Keel Mind.
“In 2023, a routine audit raised concerns about an external service provider,” Minister Nolan Quinn told the Ontario Legislature. “That process identified irregularities that led to a comprehensive forensic audit.”
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Quinn said the results of the forensic audit, which he government received on Nov. 5, came with a recommendation to refer the situation to the OPP for a deeper probe.
The government has yet to release details of what was uncovered, and Premier Ford only offered vague hints about the allegations.
“Anyone who wants to mishandle any funds coming from the government, they’re going to be audited and going to be held accountable,” Ford said.
Keel Digital Solutions has denied any wrongdoing, said the OPP has yet to contact the company and called on the government to release the findings.
“The government says it has referred an MCU audit to the OPP; Keel was repeatedly told by auditors that the process showed no irregularities or ‘red flags.’ An OPP referral is not a finding; anyone can refer anything,” the company said in an email.
The government, however, is facing questions about why Keel Digital continued to receive funding even after the initial audit “raised concerns” and triggered an escalation.
Keel received $12.7 million from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities in 2024, $1.8 million from the Ministry of Health and another $2.3 million from the Ministry of Labour’s skills development fund.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Minister Quinn made it clear that there were “flags around this company” when it continued to receive funding.
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Liberal MPP John Fraser said a forensic audit should raise a red flag across government and questioned whether it’s a sign of a larger issue.
“How is it that a company under forensic audit — a forensic audit means we think you’re hiding something from us — gets another grant?” Fraser asked.
“Just how is the government protecting the people’s money?”
Ford, however, insisted the system worked as it should.
“If there’s a problem, that’s where the audit system comes in place,” Ford said. “I encourage our whole team to go in there, the audit team to audit every single dollar that’s given to service providers across the board.”
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