Labour Minister Piccini Must Resign Over Skills Development Slush Fund Report: CUPE Ontario

- “Accountability isn’t optional, even for Ford Conservatives” -

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Ford Conservatives have been marked by scandal in many forms, but recent revelations by Ontario’s auditor general about the government’s Skills Development Fund are more evidence of corruption at the highest levels, said CUPE Ontario, the public sector union demanding accountability from Labour Minister David Piccini.

“There must be a reckoning for these kinds of scandalous actions; anything less undermines public trust,” said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. “When we’re talking about the Skills Development Fund, we’re talking about $2.5 billion of the public’s money – our collective resources meant to strengthen Ontario and protect workers who are struggling with unemployment, the demands of re-training, and the fallout from US tariffs. At a time when every dollar should be spent to bolster jobs and strengthen public services, to have any funds misused is deeply troubling.

“Minister Piccini should do the right thing and step aside. And if he won’t resign, Premier Ford must act in the best interests of Ontarians and remove him.”

Hahn listed some of the most egregious findings of the auditor general’s report: allocating $126 million in funding to low- to mid-ranking applicants who hired lobbyists (with new analysis by the Toronto Star uncovering $237 million awarded to groups that endorsed the Ford Conservatives); approving funding for low-ranking applications without justification or explanation; and overruling more than half of civil servants’ funding decisions. The auditor general’s report characterized the selection process of the Skills Development Fund as not fair, transparent or accountable.

“In the past, Conservative ministers and MPPs faced consequences when they mishandled their files or if their actions brought their government into disrepute,” Hahn pointed out. “In 2023 alone, former Conservative MPP Vincent Ke resigned from the Conservative caucus over charges of involvement in foreign election interference. That same year, Housing Minister Steve Clark resigned over the Greenbelt land swap scandal, while former MPP Kaleed Rasheed resigned from caucus over his role in the Greenbelt scandal.

“Now this damning report by the auditor general and the subsequent investigation by the Toronto Star make it clear that Piccini has used public funds to favour friends and donors. Past practice alone would dictate that the minister cannot remain in post.

“Not even the Ford Conservatives – who often act as though they’re beyond shame and who appear at times to believe that integrity in government is optional – can escape the demand for accountability from the people of Ontario in this matter.”