Opposition parties grilled Ontario ministers about a claim that one of the beneficiaries of a multi-billion-dollar government grant program has a dental practice that treats “the Ford family.”
In what she billed as “incisive questions,” Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles asked in Question Period on Monday whether Premier Doug Ford “gave $2 million of government funding to his personal family dentist.”
In answer, Labour Minister David Piccini said the premise of the question was incorrect — echoing a denial the premier made on Thursday — but Stiles had a line ready.
“I will say, I think the premier is really putting his money where his mouth is,” Stiles told the legislature.
Not to be outdone, Ontario Liberal leader John Fraser referred to the “rot” in the $2.5 billion Skills Development Fund, saying the premier’s denial is a “pretty thin veneer.”
“It’s worse than a root canal. And I’ve had a few,” Fraser said. “If there’s any decay going on, it’s over there,” he said, pointing to the government side of the house.
The questions continued on Tuesday, coming in the wake of a claim on the website of an Etobicoke dentist, JM Dental: “We want you to feel as comfortable and relaxed as the Ford family has during their visits with us.”
- READ MORE: Company owned by dentist whose practice boasts it treats ‘the Ford family’ got $2M government grant
The website says the principal dentist of the company is John Maggirias. He’s listed as the director of Dentacloud, a company that was granted $2 million through the Skills Development Fund.
A photo posted by the premier’s office shows Maggirias and Ford together, and Maggirias has donated just over $20,000 to the governing PC Party and its candidates. Ford said Thursday, “I haven’t been there.”
When CTV News visited the dentist on Friday, we were asked to leave. On Monday, a Dentacloud spokesperson said it had no comment on its claim. By mid-day it appeared to have been taken off the company’s website.
The company was brought up in opposition questions at a legislature committee meeting where MPPs asked Labour Ministry bureaucrats about the administration of the fund.
MPP Jessica Bell also asked about roughly $10 million given to the Social Equality and Inclusion Centre, which partnered with a company operating out of a venue licensed as an “adult entertainment club.”
“Ten million dollars is a lot of money,” Bell said, before asking about one of the issues identified in a report by the province’s auditor general: that unlike in other provinces, political staff have the final say over who gets the money.
“Just to be clear, it will still be the minister who gets what funding, is that correct?” Bell asked Deputy Minister Jonathan Lebi.
“The way the SDF is designed is that the staff provide their information and the minister decides,” Lebi responded.
“So that’s not changing,” Bell responded.
The Ford government has said the program is a response to economic headwinds from the pandemic and from U.S. tariffs.
In the legislature, Piccini said the dental grants were part of a program “making sure we’ve got a next generation of health care professionals trained in the province.”
An auditor general report found the administration of the fund is not fair, transparent or accountable.
“Trying to get answers from this government is like pulling teeth,” Stiles quipped.
