By Allison Jones

The leader of Ontario's NDP is asking the province's integrity commissioner to investigate the labour minister, alleging he breached ethics rules in handing out skills training funding.

Labour Minister David Piccini has come under fire for his handling of the $2.5-billion Skills Development Fund, after an auditor general report found his office has been selecting funding recipients over the advice of bureaucrats.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles says in her complaint that she believes there has been preferential treatment and Piccini has violated several sections of the Member's Integrity Act, including rules against using their office to improperly further private interests.

"We believe there are credible allegations of preferential treatment regarding the approval, oversight, and distribution of SDF grants," Stiles wrote to integrity commissioner Cathryn Motherwell.

"The disproportionate number of low scoring applicants with close political ties to the government has undermined public confidence."

Motherwell's office confirmed it had received the complaint and is now reviewing the materials to decide whether to launch an investigation.

One Skills Development Fund recipient, Keel Digital Solutions – which the minister has said received a lower score – is being closely scrutinized by critics, as media reports say one of its lobbyists is a close friend of Piccini's.

The government said it has asked the Ontario Provincial Police to look at the results of an audit on another source of government funding Keel has been receiving for student mental health that identified "irregularities."

The company says it believes the government is conflating that with the Skills Development Fund "for the sole purpose of distracting from a self-inflicted mess."

A spokesperson for Piccini said the minister will fully participate in any process initiated by the integrity commissioner.

Various 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.

The auditor also found that more than 60 of the lower-scoring applicants were approved after they hired a lobbyist, which has the opposition crying foul over what they call preferential treatment.

Piccini has vehemently defended the fund and its process, though he has said he will follow the auditor general's recommendations to improve it, and has said his office chose applications on projects that fulfill government priorities.

(C) The Canadian Press