Ford shuffles Ontario cabinet amid ethics probe

Ontario Premier Doug Ford shuffled his cabinet on Thursday, appointing Trevor Jones as labour minister and moving David Piccini to lead the Ministry of Infrastructure. Piccini remains under investigation by Ontario's integrity commissioner into his handling of the Skills Development Fund, a worker-training grant program that came under scrutiny after an auditor general report and media reporting on ties between grant recipients and Progressive Conservative figures. Ford downplayed any connection between the investigation and Piccini's reassignment, describing the move to Infrastructure as a natural fit given Piccini's background in training workers alongside contractors and unions. The premier said the province has many projects underway and needs to keep building and attracting investment as part of its response to the trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump. The auditor general reported last Oct. 1 that successive labour ministers' distribution of Skills Development Fund grants was not fair, transparent or accountable. Sources describe the program's size inconsistently, with some citing 1.3 billion dollars in grants and others 2.5 billion.