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Ontario NDP Asks Integrity Commissioner to Investigate Labour Minister
NDP requests probe into Labour Minister Piccini over alleged conflict of interest after audit found unfair grant awards prioritizing low-scoring applicants in Skills Development Fund.
- Nearly two months after the auditor general raised concerns, NDP Leader Marit Stiles asked Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell to investigate Labour Minister David Piccini over awarding Skills Development Fund grants from the $2.5-billion taxpayer-funded program.
- The auditor general's report found the Labour Minister's Office selected applications, approving many low or medium-ranked projects and more than 60 lower-scoring applicants after hiring lobbyists.
- One recipient under scrutiny, Keel Digital Solutions, has a lobbyist described as a close friend of Piccini, with the government asking the OPP to review audit results on other funding Keel received.
- While the commissioner's office has the referral, it is unknown if Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell will probe Labour Minister Piccini, whose 2023 Greenbelt investigation led to a minister's resignation.
- Piccini has defended the program and its benefits while recently shifting blame to civil servants, saying on Nov. 18 the deputy minister of labour had the 'ultimate final say' over Skills Development Fund recipients, contradicting the auditor's findings.
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23 Articles
23 Articles
Ontario NDP asks integrity commissioner to investigate labour minister
TORONTO — The leader of Ontario's NDP is asking the province's integrity commissioner to investigate the labour minister, alleging he breached ethics rules in handing out skills training funding.
·Elliot Lake, Canada
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources23
Leaning Left15Leaning Right1Center0Last UpdatedBias Distribution94% Left
Bias Distribution
- 94% of the sources lean Left
94% Left
L 94%
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