Terence Kernaghan MPP, London North Centre

Government of Ontario

Ford Labour Minister Admits to Influencing SDF Allocation

Published on October 9, 2025

QUEEN’S PARK – When questioned in an interview yesterday about the allocation of taxpayer dollars to well-connected insiders through the Skills Development Fund, Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini admitted to putting his finger on the scales for low-scoring applicants:  

“Clearly the Minister and his staff were all over this selection process. The Minister even admitted that he tipped the scales for the Parisian groom’s clients, who received $8.5 million from the fund!  

“Ontario is in the middle of a Doug Ford–fueled jobs disaster. While 800,000 Ontarians are out of work, Ford and his Ministers are funneling public money meant for workers into the hands of well-connected insiders. 

“Premier Ford and Minister Piccini need to answer for this, because it smacks of the same preferential treatment seen with the Greenbelt and Ontario Place.”