The Ontario government rejected a program that would have helped 21 high school graduates learn trades at Toronto’s transit system using a boilerplate letter with little explanation, documents obtained by CTV News show.
Ontario’s opposition parties say the “STEP+” program could have been one of many deserving applicants that weren’t given cash by the controversial $2.5 billion Skills Development Fund (SDF), even as money flowed to other programs including those connected to an adult entertainment club and someone who identified as the Ford family dentist.
“It sounds to me like exactly the kind of program that the Skills Development Fund was designed to support,” said NDP Leader Marit Stiles in an interview.
“The question you have to ask is, did they get rejected because they didn’t have a connection to the Conservative Party, to Doug Ford, to [Labour Minister] Dave Piccini?”
Since December, Piccini has faced an investigation by the legislature’s Integrity Commissioner into whether he broke any laws in his handling of the Skills Development Fund, which was flagged by Ontario’s Auditor-General as not fair transparent, or accountable, who also pointed out that lobbyists netted an outsized share of grants.
Piccini hasn’t said whether he’s been interviewed by the Commissioner, Cathryn Motherwell, but said last week he is “assisting her office with the investigation.”
In the TTC’s application, which was obtained by CTV News through a Freedom of Information request, the transit agency said the graduates would be provided with paid employment at the TTC’s maintenance and repair facilities as well as a Level 1 Apprentice Training course at Centennial College.
“This project is important because as more people retire from the skilled trades, attracting young apprentices into the field is critical to maintain a healthy workforce for decades to come, especially in public transit because it often requires specialized skills,” the application says.
The program, whose cost was pegged at $2.6 million, was supported by letters from Centennial College Associate Dean David Weatherhead and Toronto School District System Superintendent Roni Felsen.
“The Motive Power trades have always had a difficult time attracting young talent, and first-year apprentices find it challenging to land a job with a quality employer. This STEP+ program is the remedy. It will introduce more high school graduates to this industry and give them an opportunity to gain experience as an apprentice,” Felsen wrote.
On April 14, 2025, a staffer at the Ministry of Labour wrote to say, “After careful review of your application, we regret to inform you that your organization’s application…was not selected for funding.
“Due to the large volume of applications received, the ministry is unable to offer individual debrief sessions,” the letter says.
On April 23, 2025, a TTC analyst wrote back to say, “We would appreciate any feedback available. Our project falls within the parameters of the program and we submitted a strong application… please let me know if it is possible to receive feedback.”
There’s no response recorded in the package released under freedom of information.
TTC provided documents, while Ministry’s FOI response lags
The application was provided to CTV News by the TTC in 27 days, which is under the established legal timeline of 30 calendar days.
Meanwhile, other requests to the Ministry of Labour for information on other applications to the Skills Development Fund haven’t been answered since September—about 7 times as long.
Reached at an unrelated announcement, Piccini said his staff are busy.
“To compare the two is a bit unfair. Given the high volume that the government receives and the diligent work we do to make sure that individuals and organizations have their information protected,” he said.
Opposition leaders say that transparency is important, given where some of the money went.
“Ten million for a strip club owner, a few million for the family dentist. The stench of the Skills Development Fund is not going to be scrubbed off easily,” said Liberal interim leader John Fraser in media scrums at Queens Park.
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Green Party leader Mike Schreiner pointed out that Ontario’s PC government is in the midst of changing provincial Freedom of Information laws to exempt the premier, cabinet ministers, and parliamentary assistants from being subject to the province’s FOI laws.
“People have not forgotten that this government wasted $2.5 billion funneling money into a program that was there for workers into the hands of PC connected insiders and lobbyists and now they want to bring in FOI legislation that will restrict our ability to learn the details and depths of this particular scandal and other scandals. I don’t think people are going to forget that,” Schreiner said.
