Opposition, unions attack Piccini

Minister remains on hot seat over allocation of grants to PC supporters

David Piccini in happier times announcing our hospital grant.

Labour Minister David Piccini, our local MPP, continues to be under fire because his office was directly involved in handing out millions of dollars in training grants to organizations that didn’t score high on the list of requirements.

Piccini has been under attack by opposition New Democrats and Liberals at Queen’s Park and several news sites have kept digging up more troubling information.

On Monday, the Liberal party asking Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell to determine whether the labour minister broke ethics rules in how money was handed out from the skills development fund.

The Liberals asked the integrity commissioner to determine whether Piccini “advanced private or political interests, showed preferential treatment to certain applicants, or breached sections of the Members’ Integrity Act relating to conflicts of interest, improper influence, or the use of insider information.”

Piccini has insisted that his staff was simply ensuring that the government’s priorities were being met, but he has refused to provide all the decision-making criteria. The auditor general found that the groups his staff selected were less likely to meet the required performance standards.

The Toronto Star reported that the minister’s office didn’t track whether people obtained jobs in the areas that they had been trained for and didn’t track whether the jobs were full-time, part-time, or temporary.

Also on Monday, the New Democrats highlighted an Abacus Data poll commissioned by CUPE Ontario that found 52 per cent of respondents believe that Piccini should quit or be fired for the misuse of skills development funds.

“Calls for accountability are only growing louder,” said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. “Minister Piccini has used the Skills Development Fund – $2.5 billion of the public’s money – as a slush fund to benefit insider friends of the Ford Conservatives. It’s the latest corruption involving lobbyists from the Ford government and clearly the people of Ontario want the person in charge to be held responsible.

“The question is, does Doug Ford respect the people of this province enough to demand basic ministerial accountability from David Piccini, or has the premier learned nothing from the Greenbelt lobbyists’ scandal?”

But while the topic has dominated question period at Queen’s Park and received lots of headlines, it hasn’t really registered with the public.

The Abacus poll says 57 per cent of people questioned had never heard anything about the issue, only 19 per cent said they had and 24 per cent said they might have heard about the topic.

Of those who were aware, 51 per cent thought Piccini should resign, while 28 per cent said he could stay and 22 per cent said they needed more information or weren’t sure.

Abacus asked: “Do you think this controversy reflects a broader problem with how the Ford government awards contracts and grants, or is it mainly about one cabinet minister’s mismanagement?”

In response, 46 per cent thought there was a broader problem while 23 per cent thought it was just a Piccini problem. Nine per cent said nothing was being mismanaged.

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Some details on Ford’s conservation plans

On Saturday I wrote about the Ford government’s plan to reduce the number of conservation authorities and ensure they speed up development permits. I noted that I had asked the government several questions but hadn’t received answers.

Now, I have some answers. Some of them don’t seem to fit with what was announced, but time will tell just what will be rolled out.

“Our government is taking action to empower conservation authorities to deliver faster and more efficient outcomes for the communities they serve,” says Alexandru Cioban, Deputy Director of Issues Management, Legislative Affairs, and Press Secretary, for Todd McCarthy, Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks.

“As part of this framework, we will be consulting on consolidating 36 existing conservation authorities into several regional watershed-based authorities – which will help inform next steps. Additional details will be available when consultations open.”

Cioban insists “conservation authorities will continue to provide the same programs and services they deliver today. This includes protecting people and property from natural hazards, safeguarding sources of drinking water, and managing conservation lands, trails, and other recreational and educational facilities.

“Their core mandate, service areas, and funding models will remain unchanged, and boards will continue to be municipally appointed.”

Makes you wonder why they are changing the structure if they really don’t intend to change anything else.

I am surprised that Cioban says the boards will continue to be municipally appointed and funded. McCarthy said the changes won’t take place until after the current municipal terms end so it seemed like a full provincial takeover.

Trent Hills is currently served by three conservation authorities – Lower Trent, Crowe Valley and Otonabee Region. It will become part of one that serves all of eastern Lake Ontario. That will cover a lot more municipalities and funding decisions will be problematic since the new provincial agency wants to introduce online permits, better mapping and other expensive features.

I didn’t get any response on the budget for the new Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency or how much the government expects the restructuring to cost.

I’d bet two years from now we have a situation similar to the education system. Local boards have very limited control over spending and can make the occasional decision. But if the minister wants a prom, or doesn’t like something the board has done his word rules. Our regional conservation groups will probably have to learn to walk the same fuzzy line. And heaven help them if they want bike lanes in their parks or speed cameras on their roads.

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