Doug Ford….The untouchable Mr. Teflon

Since Doug Ford won the Ontario provincial election in 2018 and secured re-election in 2022, his government has navigated a series of controversies spanning ethics, procurement, and program administration not to mention the Greenbelt fiasco. Debates around cabinet ministers, portfolio management, and accountability have persisted, shaping public perception of governance in Ontario.

David Piccini is the minister responsible for labour, training and skills who finds himself in some hot water over the funding given to some organizations. I would call this a scandal involving him and the skills development fund (SDF), and where things stand as of today. The premier is still standing behind his minister and claiming that when the house comes back after the holidays, that he will still be the minister for this portfolio.

What is the skills development fund?

The SDF is a 2.5 billion provincial program designed to fund projects that help hire, train, or retrain workers-especially aiming to support the skilled trades and labour market in Ontario.

The fund has been promoted by the government as a key tool to boost apprenticeships and training across sectors. But the Auditor General found funds being given to friend and family ofconnected folks to the Ford machine.

In an October 2025 report, the office of the auditor of Ontario concluded that the SDF’s administration under the minister ha not been fair, transparent, or accountable. More than half of the projects selected by the minister’s office-rather than by neutral bureaucrats-were ranked “poor,” “low,” or “medium” against the programs’ own criteria. These under-performing applications collectively received about 745 million in funding over the first rounds. For a number of these low-scoring applications, there was no documented justification explaining why they were approved over higher-scoring ones. Among the low-and medium-scoring applications approved were man that had hired registered lobbyists- creating an appearance of real or potential preferential treatment. Thus, the Auditor’s General’s report raised serious doubts about whether public funds were being allocated based on merit-or based on connections/ political favour.

Critics of the program-including opposition parties-argue the SDF has become a slush fund benefiting insiders and political allies, rather than a fair training resource for workers. A major point of controversy involves a company Keel Digital Solutions which got sizeable SDF grants, despite being a lower-scoring application. The fact that the minister reportedly attended a wedding of one of Keel’s lobbyists, and earlier had been at a Leaf’s game with a director of the company, has raised serious conflict-0f-interest concerns. One of the principles in this company is Rob Godfrey, a well-connected son of Paul Godfrey the former Metro Chairman and several other high-profile positions.

Another group under OPP investigation along with Keel Digital Solutions is a group out of the CNE grounds run by Zlatko Starkovski who has also received about 18 million to train waitresses and burlesque talent supposedly. The list is available online with Doug Ford’s dentist receiving 2 million, and it goes on and on. Opposition leader Marit Stiles (NDP) has called for an ethics investigation, claiming the awarding process violated the rules in the Members Integrity Act. Some of the beneficiaries reportedly include companies connected to political donors, lobbyists, or those with ties to the ruling party-reinforcing impressions of pay-to-play.

A poll commissioned by CUPE Ontario found that 52% of Ontarians believe Piccini should resign or be removed from cabinet over the scandal, even among some previous PC voters, 43% agreed. With this poll being commissioned by a union organization, l must mention that Liuna received over 37 million for skills and training. The head of Liuna, Joseph Mancinelli has come out publicly to endorse the minister and has said that he should not be removed as minister of labour.

All three opposition parties have demanded accountability but despite this, Premier Doug Ford has publicly stated he is not getting rid of Piccini as Minister. The government claims the SDF is a vital tool to train workers and fill labour-market gaps-including expanding access for apprenticeships, especially in response to U.S. tariffs.

This scandal seems to smell and has legs; however, this Premier has an uncanny ability to have nothing stick to him. Just when things start to heat up, he has the ability to change the narrative and have folks forget about possible larceny. Thus far nothing seems to stick but maybe we shall see.

Vincent Black/MS