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Ford Defends System of Skills Development Funding, Won't Axe Minister Under Fire
Village Media's FOI-driven inquiry reveals multiple Skills Development Fund recipients linked to Premier Ford's government, political donors, and lobbyists, with $10 million granted to one nonprofit.
- Using fresh FOI requests, the Queen's Park team found some Skills Development Fund recipients received millions and have close ties to the Doug Ford government, PC donors and lobbyists after weeks of digging.
- Labour Minister David Piccini attended a Leafs game with a director of Keel Digital Solutions and personally selected a low-scoring company, raising scrutiny.
- FOI price quotes for files range from $851 to $4,590, with the Social Equality & Inclusion Centre receiving about $10 million, FGF Brands $1.2 million, and a law firm nearly 3.3 million, though the last figure is unsupported.
- Labour Minister David Piccini faces calls to resign after an auditor general found his office heavily involved in $2.5-billion Skills Development Fund selections, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford defends ministerial discretion.
- Reporters have filed more FOI requests awaiting cost estimates and are crowdfunding after paying half the deposits for tier-one requests, pledging to release documents publicly and fund tier-two files.
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11 Articles
11 Articles
Ford defends system of skills development funding, won’t axe minister under fire
TORONTO - Ontario Premier Doug Ford is defending his government's skills development funding system that allows a minister to hand-pick recipients against the advice of bureaucrats, even after referring an audit of one company to the police.
·Waterloo, Canada
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Sask Today+3 Reposted by 3 other sources
Ford defends system of skills development funding, won't axe minister under fire
TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford is defending his government's skills development funding system that allows a minister to hand-pick recipients against the advice of bureaucrats, even after referring an audit of one company to the police.
Elora Fergus Today+4 Reposted by 4 other sources
CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN: Help us investigate the Skills Development Fund
Your contribution can make hidden government documents public — and help our team of journalists at The Trillium uncover more about Ford government's 'slush fund' scandal
·Fergus, Canada
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources11
Leaning Left7Leaning Right0Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution88% Left
Bias Distribution
- 88% of the sources lean Left
88% Left
L 88%
12%
Factuality
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