Ontario labour minister under fire over skills development funding after AG report

Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini was in the hot seat Monday as politicians are back at Queen's Park for the first time in months.

Opposition parties focused most of their questions on findings from a recent Ontario auditor general report on the Skills Development Fund, which she said was not "fair, transparent or accountable."

The auditor found that Piccini's office has been heavily involved in selecting projects that get funded under the $2.5-billion skills training program and has doled out money to applicants ranked low by bureaucrats without documenting why.

All three opposition parties are calling on Premier Doug Ford to ask for Piccini's resignation.

Ford and Piccini are resisting that call, with Piccini touting the benefits of the fund, saying it has helped thousands of people find jobs.

The auditor also found that more than 60 of the lower-scoring applicants were approved after they hired a lobbyist, which has the opposition crying foul over what they call preferential treatment.