Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini said he has accepted the Auditor-General’s recommendations after a report found the distribution of $1.3-billion in grants from the Skills Development Fund was ‘not fair, transparent or accountable.’Laura Proctor/The Canadian Press
Ontario’s Labour Minister told a business audience that he takes full responsibility for a controversial skills-training fund, after a prominent construction union leader whose organization received tens of millions from the program called attacks on the government ridiculous.
David Piccini has been on the defensive for weeks about the $2.5-billion Skills Development Fund, a marquee program of the Ford government that gives money to unions, employers and other organizations to retrain workers. An October report from the province’s Auditor-General found that the distribution of $1.3-billion in grants under the program was “not fair, transparent or accountable,” and raised concerns about the use of lobbyists to secure funding.
The report said the Labour Minister’s political staff overruled evaluations by non-partisan bureaucrats and doled out hundreds of millions of dollars to organizations with lower scores on their applications, while higher-ranked applicants were overlooked.
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Speaking at an Empire Club of Canada luncheon in Toronto on Wednesday, Mr. Piccini said some lower-scoring organizations were selected because they aligned with government priorities, such as nuclear energy and geographical diversity. He also said he took into account the industries impacted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“I have never skirted ministerial accountability. I am accountable as minister for the decisions that we make as a government,” Mr. Piccini said during a question-and-answer session with moderator Amanda Galbraith, a Conservative strategist.
Mr. Piccini added that he has accepted the Auditor-General’s recommendations and is dedicated to “continuous improvement,” including by committing to tracking long-term outcomes of the program.
The minister was introduced at the event by Joseph Mancinelli, international vice-president and Canadian director at the Labourers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), which has received tens of millions from the fund.
Mr. Mancinelli issued a full-throated defence of Mr. Piccini and Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government, which the union has endorsed for the past three elections.
“To say that that fund is a fund created as a quid pro quo for unions like LiUNA because we endorsed the Premier is absolutely ridiculous,” Mr. Mancinelli said, adding the endorsement was made long before the fund was created in 2021.
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He also appeared to take aim at Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles, who was ejected from the provincial legislature last month after refusing to withdraw her assertion that Mr. Ford leads a “corrupt government” for its handling of the Skills Development Fund.
Mr. Mancinelli said Mr. Ford and Mr. Piccini have been subject to “unfounded attacks” about the fund.
“Words like corruption are words that should never be spoken in the legislature and quite frankly, those who are speaking them are the corrupt people,” he said to applause.
The Ontario NDP did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ms. Stiles has asked the province’s Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell to investigate the Labour Minister, alleging he breached ethics rules in handing out the skills funding.
In September, Mr. Ford announced that the government would give LiUNA Local 183 $26-million from the Skills Development Fund’s capital stream to build a worker-training centre in Vaughan, north of Toronto. Since 2021, LiUNA locals have also been given close to $18-million from the Skills Development Fund’s training stream or the Labour Ministry, according to a Globe and Mail analysis of available figures.
The union, which says it has 100,000 members or retirees across Canada, is one of the largest construction unions on the continent. Local 183 counts 70,000 members in Ontario alone.
Mr. Mancinelli and Mr. Piccini declined to answer reporters’ questions on Wednesday, with the minister leaving through a side door after his appearance.
He later told the Toronto Star outside the event that Mr. Mancinelli has been “an incredible partner on the labour front.”
With a report from Yang Sun
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct a quote attributed to Joseph Mancinelli. He said “unfounded attacks” against Premier Doug Ford and Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini are unwarranted.