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3mo ago

Ontario Integrity Commissioner Probes Labour Minister Over Skills Fund Selections

The commissioner will use statutory powers to assess whether ethics rules were broken in the grant process.

Ontario Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development David Piccini speaks to media at Queen’s Park in Toronto, on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.
Ontario Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development David Piccini speaks at a press conference in Kitchener, Ont., on Sept. 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

Overview

  • Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell opened an inquiry after NDP and Liberal requests, focusing on whether David Piccini breached the Members’ Integrity Act in the Skills Development Fund’s Training Stream.
  • Piccini has acknowledged intervening in selections and overruling civil-service rankings but denies wrongdoing and says he will cooperate with the investigation.
  • Premier Doug Ford defended the program and the minister, declined to say he would remove Piccini from cabinet, and emphasized the fund’s training outcomes.
  • Opposition parties renewed calls for Piccini to resign or at least recuse himself from overseeing the next round of grants, with more than $250 million set to be allocated.
  • The probe follows Auditor General findings that the process was not fair or transparent, with many low- or medium-scoring applicants approved, and runs alongside an OPP anti-rackets investigation into recipient Keel Digital Solutions, which denies wrongdoing.