September 22nd, 2022

Ford handing job programs to firms with bad track records: NDP

HAMILTON — The NDP critic for Children, Community and Social Services Monique Taylor (Hamilton Mountain) said the Ford government is sending more of Ontario’s job placement and training services for social assistance recipients to private and for-profit firms with notoriously bad track records—with harmful consequences for vulnerable Ontarians.

“We already know that Fedcap, the U.S.-based firm that Ford is contracting more employment services to, now in Halton Region, has a bad track record in other jurisdictions,” said Taylor. “In the State of Maine, Fedcap was unable to fulfill its contractual negotiations. Just 10 per cent of participants were placed in a real skills training program, and 48 per cent of participants referred to Fedcap lost their social assistance but didn't secure a job.

“Doug Ford and Monte McNaughton selling off employment services to more parts of Ontario means more people on ODSP and OW are at risk of getting pushed off social assistance for jobs that are precarious, ill-suited to them and not responsive to their needs – vulnerable people will be left without social assistance or employment.”

Taylor said it’s troubling that the Australian-owned company WCG, which the Ontario Liberals contracted employment programs out to in an unsuccessful 2005 pilot project—will now expand to York Region.

“The government is setting up some of the most vulnerable Ontarians for even more challenges instead of doing what it should, which is making sure people get the supports they need, including doubling social assistance rates for the 900,000 Ontarians struggling to make ends meet, as inflation soars.”

Background

Fedcap Inc. is a U.S. based multinational non-profit social service provider, with operations in the U.K., Australia, and the United States.

In February 2020, it was announced that Fedcap was chosen by the Ford government to run Employment Ontario services for the combined service area of Hamilton, Haldimand and Niagara region in one of three pilot areas.

Fedcap Inc. received the contract to administer job placement services for welfare recipients for the State of Maine in October 2016.

In 2019, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services wrote to the company with a long list of concerns, including the following:

  • Lack of capacity to fulfill its contractual obligations
  • Poor performance
  • Poor record keeping of client’s personal information
  • Lack of responsiveness to the needs of program participants
  • 48 per cent of people that were referred to them lost their assistance without securing a job (Fedcap Monthly Report, Nov. 2019, p.g. 7)
  • 65 unionized state employees lost their jobs after Fedcap assumed the contract