A minister under fire, alleged lobbyist connections: Ontario's Skills Development Fund controversy explained

Calls for a minister to resign.

Accusations of cozy connections between lobbyists and the Ford government.

And now a forensic audit handed over to the Ontario Provincial Police for possible investigation.

The latest scandal at Queen’s Park revolves around the Skills Development Fund – a little known pocket of government grants to help train workers.

The Opposition has been demanding Minister David Piccini be fired over his handling of the fund. The province’s auditor general has also been critical of how the government is using it.

Here’s a look at what’s happening and why this file is continuing to dog the Ford government.

Ontario’s Skills Development Fund provides funding to organizations to address challenges in hiring, training or retraining workers. 

In early October, Auditor General Shelley Spence issued a special report with damning findings on how $1.3 billion in the fund was awarded. Calling the process “troubling," she said Ontario has not been fair, or transparent or accountable when it comes to evaluating applications.

Here’s a snapshot of what she found:

Piccini has defended the fund and his close involvement in selecting recipients. He has denied any wrongdoing and continued to award the funding in the weeks since the auditor’s report was made public.

"I think when we see the changes in labour market needs and we see changing realities in every corner of Ontario, it's important that I and government, who are elected by the people, ultimately have the say in where these are going," he said during an October news conference.

The minister has said he accepts the auditor’s recommendations, but has given no indication he will remove himself and his staff from the selection process.

Premier Doug Ford meanwhile is standing by Piccini and has dismissed calls to fire the minister.

The NDP, Liberals and Green MPPs have all slammed the administration of the fund, accusing the Tories of awarding political allies and the clients of lobbyists connected to the government as recipients.