The criteria used by the Ford government to hand out millions of dollars through its controversial Skills Development Fund remain a secret as a new Star analysis shows 17 unions and industry groups that endorsed the Progressive Conservatives in the February election received $237 million.
There is no transparency on how the various labour and trade organizations were graded despite the $2.5-billion program coming under intense scrutiny following a scathing Oct. 1 auditor general’s report on its structure and the potential influence of lobbyists on embattled Labour Minister David Piccini and his predecessor.
The government has refused to release the scoring system used to rate hundreds of funding applications, leaving unanswered questions about how applicants were ranked and whether the public money was distributed on merit or influence. The government has denied any policy decisions were made for political reasons.When asked about the evaluation system, Piccini’s office emailed a partial list of funding recipients without scores.
The Star’s analysis found that of the 17 unions and groups that endorsed Ford in the Feb. 27 election, six hired consultants with Tory links to connect with the Ministry of Labour, according to the integrity commissioner’s lobbyist registry.
One prominent lobbying firm — Rubicon Strategy, headed by Ford’s PC campaign manager Kory Teneycke — boasts on its website that it has “successfully secured millions in skills development training dollars for several Canadian unions and social services partners.”
In all, 20 unions and industry groups endorsed the premier’s party during the campaign. Three of those did not receive money from the fund, launched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to boost worker training and offset a shortage of skilled labour.
