Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced several changes to his cabinet, including moving David Piccini into a new portfolio amid an ongoing integrity commissioner investigation into his handling of the Skills Development Fund.
Piccini was announced as Ontario’s new minister of infrastructure as part of the cabinet shuffle, replacing Kinga Surma who takes over the role of President of the Treasury Board. That role was left vacant following the resignation of Caroline Mulroney in June.
Trevor Jones will take over Piccini’s former portfolio as Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. Jones previously served as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, a role that will now be held by Niagara MPP Sam Oosterhoff.
Ontario’s integrity commissioner previously launched an investigation into Piccini’s handling of the Skill Development Fund last December after Ontario’s auditor general found that the selection of applicants to the $2.5 billion fund - which was set up to help train workers for in-demand professions – was not fair, transparent or accountable.
The auditor general ultimately identified approximately $750 million in grants from the Skills Development Fund (SDF) that were given to applicants hand-picked by political staff.
Piccini, for his part, has defended his handling of the fund and has previously said it is important that elected representatives “ultimately have a say in where these grants are going.”
On Thursday, Ford was asked by reporters whether the decision to move Piccini into a new portfolio had anything to do with his handling of the Skill Development Fund but said that was not the case, calling it a “good move” for Piccini.
“I think it is a natural move. He trained over the last two years close to about 750,000 people and now it is an actual move to go into infrastructure,” he said. “We have about $235 billion of infrastructure, no matter if its building $80 billion of the largest transit system in North America, $64 billion building 50 hospitals or $30 billion on schools and long-term care so it is a natural move.”
Ford’s cabinet shuffle comes following the resignation of three different ministers over the summer.
The shuffle will see nine MPPs take on new portfolios.
Some of the other highlights include Milton MPP Zee Hamid taking over as Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming. He replaces Stan Cho who resigned from cabinet over the summer following a scandal over thousands of dollars in expense claims for hotel stays in Toronto.
Former Olympic rower Brian Saunderson also joins cabinet for the first time, taking over as Ontario’s Minister of Sport following the retirement of Neil Lumsden in August.
The total size of the cabinet now stands at 36 after the Ford government opted to remove the portfolio of the Associate Minister of Auto Theft and Bail Reform after deeming its mandate “fulfilled.”
The premier told reporters the goal behind the shuffle was to create the right team to help craft Ontario’s response amid an ongoing trade war with the U.S.
“I think it is always good to have a fresh outlook and fresh blood going into different ministries, we were very thoughtful when we did this,” he said.
Ford’s revamped cabinet is as follows:
- Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
- Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health
- Sam Oosterhoff, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness
- Doug Downey, Attorney General
- Michael Parsa, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services
- Graham McGregor, Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism
- Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security
- Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
- Paul Calandra, Minister of Education
- Jill Dunlop, Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response
- Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines
- Todd McCarthy, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
- Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance
- Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation and the Minister Responsible for Ring of Fire Economic and Community Partnerships
- David Piccini, Minister of Infrastructure
- Trevor Jones, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
- Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Minister of Long-Term Care and Minister of Francophone Affairs
- Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
- Mike Harris, Minister of Natural Resources
- George Pirie, Minister of Northern Economic Development and Growth
- Stephen Crawford, Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement
- Andrea Khanjin, Minister of Red Tape Reduction
- Lisa Thompson, Minister of Rural Affairs
- Raymond Cho, Minister for Seniors and Accessibility
- Michael Kerzner, Solicitor General
- Brian Saunderson, Minister of Sport
- Zee Hamid, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming
- Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation
- Kinga Surma, President of the Treasury Board
- Vijay Thanigasalam, Associate Minister of Artificial Intelligence Adoption, as part of the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
- Michael Tibollo, Associate Attorney General, as part of the Ministry of the Attorney General
- Matthew Rae, Associate Minister of Energy-Intensive Industries, as part of the Ministry of Energy and Mines
- Kevin Holland, Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products, as part of the Ministry of Natural Resources
- Michelle Cooper, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, as part of the Ministry of Health
- Graydon Smith, Associate Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, as part of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
- Nina Tangri, Associate Minister of Small Business, as part of the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
- Charmaine Williams, Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity, as part of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services
This is a breaking news story. More updates to follow.
