New: The Ford government secretly reduced Canadian content requirements for two of its biggest transit projects, and when confronted, said no policies had changed.
#onpoli
www.thetrillium.ca/news/municip...
I was able to put this together by FOI-ing records for the meetings between bidders and govt singled out in the auditor general's report.
The bidders were anonymized in the report, but my FOI-ed invites weren't.
Cross-referencing the dates and times with the report revealed their identity. Fun!
The Liberals planned for it to be one of the site's "anchor tenants," but couldn't get it done before the PCs were elected.
The Ford government shortlisted the pitch as well, but ultimately ditched it for Therme/Live Nation.
#onpoli
www.thetrillium.ca/insider-news...
Two longtime Hollywood execs pitched a combination film and TV production facility and "Universal City" experience with studio tours, rides and an amusement park.
"Potential partners" included Universal, Sony, Google and Amazon.
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New: How Ontario Place almost became a Universal Studios-style amusement park
#onpoli
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New: The OPP's anti-rackets branch is investigating Jake's House, another group given millions by the Ford government, including through the Skills Development Fund.
#onpoli
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From last week: A non-profit with ties to Drake got $3.3 million from Ontario’s Skills Development Fund — but has since shut down, and the province claims the group owes it money.
It matches an example from the AG report of a low-ranked group picked by the MO.
www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...
From Monday: 63% of this round’s $345M Skills Development Fund went to groups led by PC donors.
The top recipient held a $120k fundraiser for Labour Minister David Piccini months before it got $14M.
www.thetrillium.ca/news/the-tri...
From Tuesday: Labour minister’s fundraiser cancelled
David Piccini, who’s been under fire over how the Skills Development Fund has benefited PC donors and friends, said it was called off due to a ‘personal commitment’
www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...
From yesterday: The church where a Ford government cabinet minister was married got $2.8M from the Skills Development Fund and Labour Ministry.
It’s one of three places of worship to get SDF grants, all with apparent PC connections.
www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...
From today: The Ford government gave millions of tax dollars through the Skills Development Fund to a company with a PC Party vice-president, and another group run by an unsuccessful PC candidate.
#onpoli
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A thread of recent @thetrillium.bsky.social reporting on the Skills Development Fund. #onpoli
ICYMI: Months before he was labour minister, David Piccini was in Leafs glass seats with a director of a company he later granted $7.5M to.
Piccini attended the Parisian wedding of the company’s lobbyist.
From me and @charliepinkerton.bsky.social.
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I have this thought every time I listen to the radio in the States. Especially talk radio. Every ad is either "Do you feel terrible? Take this frightening drug," "Do you have no money? We can nonspecifically help," or "Are you a patriot? Invest in this obvious scam"
Labour Minister David Piccini said he was personally involved in picking “lower-scoring” recipients of a $2.5-billion training fund that the province's auditor general recently labelled "not fair, transparent or accountable." The auditor general found that less than half of the recipients of the Ministry of Labour's Skills Development Fund (SDF) were given "high" scores on their proposals by non-partisan civil servants who evaluated them, while the majority — 54 per cent — were ranked as having “lower” quality proposals. Piccini defended the fund in a Newstalk 1010 radio interview on Wednesday. "I mean, there were projects that were lower-scoring that we did select — and that's a conversation I have with our officials here — that align with government priorities,” he said. “I mean, Peel Police — we supported (a) lower-scoring project. It supports mental health. Our first responders are more likely than the general population to commit suicide. That's a real reality,” Piccini added. The minister was referring to a project by Keel Digital Solutions — the company represented by the lobbyist whose Parisian wedding Piccini attended this past weekend.
New: Ontario's labour minister said he was personally involved in picking “lower-scoring” Skills Development Fund recipients.
He held up one whose lobbyist's wedding he attended as an example of a lower-ranked applicant with sizeable impact.
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NEW: David Piccini, the minister whose office picks Skills Development Fund recipients, was in Paris this weekend at the wedding of a lobbyist whose clients received millions from that fund.
From me and @charliepinkerton.bsky.social.
www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...
The federal government says it will be getting in touch with the province about the fund, and doesn’t sound happy.
#onpoli
www.thetrillium.ca/insider-news...
Two former chiefs of staff to Michael Ford, the premier’s nephew, represented clients that received millions of dollars from the Skills Development Fund.
Both are relatively new to the lobbying scene.
#onpoli
www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...
Clients of one firm owned by Kory Teneycke, the premier’s campaign manager, have received more than $100 million from the Skills Development Fund.
#onpoli
www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...
New: Clients of lobbying firms with close connections to Premier Doug Ford and his nephew have been hugely successful in applying to the province’s Skills Development Fund.
Full analysis: www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...
#onpoli
NEW: The organization that’s supposed to be making sure the people building your home aren’t cheats, liars or swindlers is asleep at the wheel, Ontario’s auditor general has found.
From me and Steve Cornwell.
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www.thetrillium.ca/insider-news...
BREAKING: The Ford govt has given groups hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars against the advice of civil servants who’d evaluated their applications, per Ontario’s auditor general.
@thetrillium.bsky.social has been covering this story in depth.
#onpoli
www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...
Facing pressure from above, Ontario's psychologist regulator has voted to cut training requirements and allow unlimited exam attempts.
It's a fascinating debate. What's more important: the highest bar for mental health docs — or more of them?
#onpoli
www.thetrillium.ca/news/health/...
Premier Doug Ford says speed cameras don't slow people down.
They do.
#onpoli
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Ontario's highest court will now decide whether Doug Ford's government can have its way with three major Toronto bike lanes.
#onpoli
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The premier thanked Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown for following his lead on RTO, and called on everyone else to follow suit.
Not all municipalities are into the idea.
#onpoli
www.thetrillium.ca/insider-news...
New: Doug Ford is leaving open the possibility of invoking the notwithstanding clause to remove three Toronto bike lanes.
“Let's see what happens at the Court of Appeal, and then we'll go from there."
#onpoli #topoli
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The decision likely won’t “open the floodgates” to similar challenges, he wrote.
"Most road and traffic decisions are well-grounded in data and safety concerns, as one would expect, and are unlikely to be challenged as arbitrary."
#onpoli #topoli
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No, you don't have a constitutional right to bike lanes now.
Governments can make decisions that harm, but when they do so “arbitrarily,” the Charter comes into play, the judge wrote.
#onpoli #topoli
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Cycling advocates have won.
The Ford government's plan to remove three major bike lanes in Toronto violates the Charter, Ontario's Superior Court rules.
Story to come.
#onpoli #topoli
