![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/LCDQTEJWARHYFEYZCIAE4UA4ZI.jpg\")
SDF graphic CTV News was able to track more than $100 million in grants tied to lobbyists.\nThe lion\u2019s share, of at least $82 million, was tracked to one company, Rubicon Strategy. <\/p>\n
In the wake of a scathing audit of Ontario\u2019s Skills Development Fund (SDF), Canada\u2019s federal government says it\u2019s reviewing the troubled program to make sure the money it sends the province for jobs training is being well spent.<\/p>\n
Canadian Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu told CTV News Toronto that her office was reviewing the report by Ontario\u2019s auditor general that raised red flags about the $2.5 billion program and would also do its own homework.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorkforce development is an area of joint responsibility between the federal government and provinces and territories,\u201d Hajdu\u2019s press secretary Jennifer Kozelj said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will also be engaging with the Government of Ontario on this matter, to undertake full due diligence and seek mitigation measures to ensure funding is used effectively and transparently for our labour market agreements.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not clear what measures the federal government has planned. The federal government sends about $1 billion a year to Ontario via these agreements, and some projects that have received SDF grants have also boasted federal support.<\/p>\n
The Skills Development Fund is a signature program of the Ford government, which made grant approvals the subject of numerous press conferences, though it has come under fire for funding private skills training in bars, dentists, and even a casino amid a crisis in public colleges.<\/p>\n
Last week, Ontario\u2019s auditor general pointed out that, more than half the time, political staff overrode bureaucrats to approve $742 million in fund applications the non-partisan staff had ranked as \u201cpoor\u201d, \u201clow\u201d, or \u201cmedium.\u201d<\/p>\n
The auditor general also pointed out that the organizations behind 64 low- and medium-ranked applications hired lobbyists to get $126 million in funds.<\/p>\n
Even though the provincial government has not yet made all of the grants, their recipients and their amounts public, CTV News was able to track more than $100 million in grants tied to lobbyists.<\/p>\n
The lion\u2019s share, of at least $82 million, was tracked to one company, Rubicon Strategy, which is led by Premier Doug Ford\u2019s former campaign manager Kory Teneyke.<\/p>\n
SDF graphic CTV News was able to track more than $100 million in grants tied to lobbyists.
\nThe lion\u2019s share, of at least $82 million, was tracked to one company, Rubicon Strategy. <\/p>\n
Opposition parties have cried foul, with NDP leader Marit Stiles saying on Monday, \u201cIt seems they\u2019re using this important fund as a way to reward conservative insiders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Teneyke hasn\u2019t yet returned messages from CTV News, and Ford brushed off the connections in a scrum at Ontario\u2019s legislature on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Skills Development Fund is one of the best programs we\u2019ve ever put together. It\u2019s created 700,000 opportunities to teach a trade, no matter if it\u2019s health care or manufacturing or in the skills trade themselves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Asked about the statement by the federal government, Ford said, \u201cIt\u2019s our money, it\u2019s in our budget, it\u2019s on our books, and we look forward to them joining the program to make sure we have more skilled tradespeople helping people.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the applicants who got an SDF grant via a lobbyist is King Animal Hospital, which said it will train at least 100 registered veterinarians at its expansive campus north of Toronto.<\/p>\n
A video published by the animal hospital said it has a gym, two kitchens, and a lounge. A horse could be seen being examined by what appeared to be a horse-sized X-ray machine, while students gathered around a stuffed dog doing what appeared to be CPR.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ZZBO4GXQ2VEB7BOOM7LM2UN7II.jpg\")
Horse A horse receives medical treatment at the King Animal Hospital. (Source: Instagram \/ King Animal Hospital). <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are addressing a critical workforce shortage requiring specific critical care skills, reducing turnover, and strengthening the province\u2019s animal health care system,\u201d said CEO Tracy Jones in a statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the wake of a scathing audit of Ontario\u2019s Skills Development Fund (SDF), Canada\u2019s federal government says it\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[712,49,48,44],"class_list":{"0":"post-196806","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}