Stiles: Ford Conservatives partying in Paris with lobbyists, Ontarians struggle to find work

QUEEN’S PARK — In response to the news that Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini attended the Parisian wedding of a lobbyist whose clients were awarded millions of dollars through the Skills Development Fund — a process referred to by the province's auditor general as “not fair, transparent, or accountable” — Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles has issued the following statement:

“Ontario is in the middle of a Doug Ford–fueled jobs disaster. While 800,000 Ontarians are out of work, Ford is funneling public money into the hands of well-connected insiders, and his Labour Minister is partying in Paris with the very same insiders.

“These are people’s hard-earned tax dollars, and the Ford government owes people answers.

“Every single dollar from this program needs to go to workers. It’s time for Ford to show some respect for the taxpayer dime and commit to a transparent and fair process that puts workers first.”

BACKGROUND:

• The Auditor General describes the process as “not fair, transparent or accountable, and there was little rationale to explain why the high-ranked applicants were not chosen.”
• 54% of applications approved by the Ministry of Labour were poorly ranked
• These low ranking applications were awarded $742 million in Skills Development Funding
• 670 higher-ranked applications were denied funding without explanation
• Over 100 funded applicants, including many low-ranked ones hired lobbyists before being approved
• $100 million in Skills Development Fund grants were traced back to Ford-connected lobbyists including Ford’s campaign manager