"Media reports have said that some beneficiaries of the $2.5 billion fund are unions that endorsed the Progressive Conservatives in elections and people who have donated to the party. The auditor general also found that more than 60 of the lower-scoring fund applicants were approved after they hired a lobbyist, which had the opposition crying foul over what they called preferential treatment."
"Auditor General Shelley Spence found Piccini's office was heavily involved in selecting the recipients of training funds in a process she said was not fair or transparent. The Skills Development Fund gives money to organizations for projects that help hire, train or retrain workers. The province says they've so far trained about 700,000 people and of those, 100,000 people found jobs within 60 days of completing the program."
Ontario Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell opened a probe into Labour Minister David Piccini over his dealings with the $2.5 billion Skills Development Fund after allegations from provincial Liberals and New Democrats that he breached ethics rules. Premier Doug Ford defended the fund and said Piccini will cooperate, while declining to say whether he would fire him. Media reports indicate some beneficiaries included unions that endorsed the Progressive Conservatives and party donors. The auditor general found Piccini's office heavily involved in recipient selection, that the process lacked fairness and transparency, and that over 60 lower-scoring applicants were approved after hiring lobbyists. The province reports about 700,000 people trained, with 100,000 finding jobs within 60 days.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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