Province sues company for over $25M, alleges fraud linked to Skills Development Fund
CBC
The Ontario government has filed a lawsuit against a company it contracted to run a student mental health program, alleging fraudulent misrepresentation and seeking to recoup more than $25 million in public money.
The province is suing Keel Digital Solutions, a company tied to the controversial Skills Development Fund, for alleged issues with a different contract it had with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities.
Ontario Provincial Police are also investigating the results of an audit on Keel's funding from the ministry after a referral from the province.
The government alleges in its lawsuit that between 2022 and 2025, Keel "provided false and misleading quarterly reports of their corporate performance measures," which were the basis for its payments.
"The false reports caused the Crown to pay the corporate defendants millions of dollars that they otherwise would not have been paid," alleged the claim, which was filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Wednesday.
The province alleges the company filed estimated expenses as opposed to actual expenses and "failed to report unspent funds, interest earned, and tax credits and rebates, as required by the contracts."
The province also alleges several executives at the company "directed, facilitated, and then tried to cover-up the corporate defendants' false reports" given to the ministry.
None of the allegations have been tested in court, and Keel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A company spokesperson has previously said it has complied with all laws and contractual obligations.
Keel Digital Solutions was closely scrutinized during the fall sitting of the legislature as one of the recipients of the Ministry of Labour's $2.5-billion Skills Development Fund, a program the auditor general has found was not fair or transparent.
Labour Minister David Piccini came under sustained fire from opposition parties calling for his resignation, particularly since media reports say one of Keel's lobbyists is a close friend of Piccini's.
Premier Doug Ford and Piccini have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and both have said they remain committed to the Skills Development Fund.
Ontario's integrity commissioner, Cathryn Motherwell, has launched an ethics investigation into Piccini's dealings with that fund.
Media reports have said that some beneficiaries of the fund are unions that endorsed the Progressive Conservatives in elections and people who have donated to the party.
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The Ontario government has filed a lawsuit against a company it contracted to run a student mental health program, alleging fraudulent misrepresentation and seeking to recoup more than $25 million in public money.
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