Minister of Labour,Immigration,Training and Skills Development
Piccini became Ontario's Minister of Labour,Immigration,Training &Skills Development on September 22,2023. [6]
On November 14,2023,Piccini introduced Ontario's Working for Workers Four Act,his first as Minister of Labour,Immigration,Training and Skills Development. [7] The bill,which lowered the employment period needed by firefighters and fire investigators to be eligible to receive compensation when diagnosed with esophageal cancer from 25 to 15 years,received Royal Assent on March 21,2024. [8] The legislation also made changes to the Employment Standards Act (ESA),these included prohibiting employers from deducting wages for stolen property or unpaid bills,and mandating payment for trial shifts. The changes also required transparency in tip-sharing practices and salary disclosures in job postings, [9] [10] banned the use of Canadian work experience as a job application requirement,improved oversight of third-party assessments for international qualifications,clarified vacation pay provisions,and allowed inflation-adjusted increases to Workplace Safety and Insurance Board benefits. [11]
In August 2024,he confronted Fred Hahn,the President of CUPE Ontario,and told Hahn "you have to stop hating Jews." [12] Piccini was praised for that by,among others,former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole,psychologist and author Jordan Peterson,and Conservative MPs Michelle Rempel Garner and Melissa Lantsman. [13]
In October 2025,the Auditor General of Ontario released a report on the Skills Development Fund overseen by Piccini that described the $2.5 billion fund as not being "fair,transparent or accountable". The auditor found that unlike similar funds in Alberta,British Columbia,Manitoba,and Newfoundland and Labrador,Piccini's office was heavily involved in specific funding decisions,overriding the decisions of non-partisan civil servants more than half the time,for a total amount of at least $750 million in grants,and without documentation of their reasoning,including to applicants that civil servants had ranked as low-priority. Further reporting by The Trillium found that one lobbyist with multiple successful clients was also a close friend of Piccini's and that a majority of the $345 million in the most recent round of the SDF had gne All three opposition parties called for Piccini's resignation after the release of the report. Piccini defended his actions,saying that the fund had helped thousands of people find jobs. [14]
