We followed the money paid out by Ford government’s $2.5B skills fund Artwork

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In cities and towns across Ontario — and at Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill — our journalists work for you. Their mission is to dig for answers and tell you what they find. This new podcast from Village Media — ‘Closer Look’ — is all about the stories we tell. Every weeknight, hosts Michael Friscolanti and Scott Sexsmith go beyond the headlines with insightful, in-depth conversations featuring our reporters and editors, leading experts, key stakeholders and big newsmakers.

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Closer Look - Insightful, credible, unfiltered conversations that matter

We followed the money paid out by Ford government’s $2.5B skills fund

October 14, 2025 • Village Media Inc.

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Leafs tickets, a Parisian wedding, Rob Ford’s favourite nightclub owner — even Drake. This evolving story out of Queen’s Park has it all.

Last week, Ontario’s auditor general had some scathing words for the Ford government’s $2.5-billion Skills Development Fund (SDF), which supports “innovative projects” aimed at hiring, training and retraining Ontario workers.

Shelley Spence found that the selection process was “not fair, transparent or accountable” — and that provincial labour ministers handpicked groups to receive hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars against the advice of civil servants.

The auditor general’s findings followed exclusive reporting from Village Media’s The Trillium, which revealed that multiple groups connected to the Ford government received generous SDF grants.

Beneficiaries included a restaurant business with connections to a former key aide to the premier; a centre that trains people to work in clubs run by a longtime Ford associate; and a dental practice brokerage whose CEO worked closely with the wife of the former labour minister.

Joining us on tonight's Closer Look to connect all the dots are three of The Trillium journalists who've been following the money: editor-in-chief Jessica Smith Cross and reporters Charlier Pinkerton and Jack Hauen.

Hosted by Village Media’s Michael Friscolanti and Scott Sexsmith, and produced by Derek Turner, Closer Look is a new daily podcast that goes way beyond the headlines with insightful, in-depth conversations featuring our reporters and editors, leading experts, key stakeholders and big newsmakers.

Fresh episodes drop every Monday to Friday at 7 p.m. right in your local news feed — and on the show’s dedicated website: closerlookpodcast.ca. Of course, you can also find us wherever you get your favourite podcasts.

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