Ontario (Rajeev Sharma): The Ontario government has launched a lawsuit against Keel Digital Solutions and its subsidiary Get A-Head Inc., accusing the company of inflating student counselling figures and seeking to recover more than $25 million in public funds. The legal action, filed Wednesday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, claims that between 2022 and 2025, the company submitted misleading reports that resulted in substantial overpayments under a student mental health program.
According to the lawsuit, Keel reported far higher numbers of counselling sessions than were actually delivered. The province alleges that the company counted sessions with non-students, mock sessions, and even multiple participants in a single session as separate sessions. The government said that while the company’s 2022–2023 report claimed 42,556 eligible sessions, in reality only 3,529 sessions took place.
“The false reports caused the Crown to pay the corporate defendants millions of dollars that they otherwise would not have been paid,” the lawsuit states.
The case has drawn renewed scrutiny on the Skills Development Fund, a $2.5-billion provincial program meant to support worker training and mental health initiatives. Critics have questioned why Keel, which was ranked low in bureaucratic evaluations, received $7.5 million for a first responder mental health program, particularly given earlier audit concerns in the Ministry of Colleges and Universities.
Opposition parties have also targeted Labour Minister David Piccini over perceived conflicts of interest, citing media reports linking him socially to a Keel lobbyist. NDP Leader Marit Stiles claimed the government’s court action is an attempt to “cover its tracks,” while Liberal parliamentary leader John Fraser called the lawsuit “self-serving,” suggesting it distracts from systemic issues in the fund.
The Ontario Provincial Police are already investigating Keel’s handling of the student mental health program, with the province alleging that the company submitted estimated expenses rather than actual expenses, failed to report unspent funds, and misreported interest, rebates, and tax credits. Several executives are accused of orchestrating and attempting to conceal the false reporting.
Keel has denied all allegations. COO Jay Fischbach said in a statement that the company has never engaged in fraud and criticized the government for what he called “recklessness and malice.”
Premier Doug Ford and Minister Piccini have maintained that no wrongdoing has occurred on their part and defended the Skills Development Fund as a key initiative, noting that it has trained roughly 700,000 people, with about 100,000 finding jobs within 60 days of program completion.
Meanwhile, Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner, Cathryn Motherwell, has opened an ethics probe into Piccini’s interactions with the fund, amid reports that some fund recipients were linked to political donations or endorsements of the Progressive Conservative party.
The lawsuit is the latest development in a growing controversy over the administration of the Skills Development Fund and the oversight of taxpayer money in Ontario.
