Ontario company tied to medical supply shortage received nearly $19M in job training funds
The Ford government is facing tough questions about why an Ontario company connected to last year’s medical supply shortage for elderly and palliative care patients received millions of dollars from a government training program.
Government records show that Bayshore Home Care Solutions received more than $18 million through several rounds of Ontario’s Skills Development Fund (SDF) — a program meant to help workers learn new skills. During that time, the company also worked with several lobbyists to make its case to the government.
A recent auditor general’s report found major problems with how the fund was managed, saying it was “not fair, transparent or accountable.” The report said many projects that scored low or medium on government evaluations were still approved — and that more than 60 of those had hired lobbyists.
The Ministry of Labour did not answer questions about how Bayshore’s applications were scored or whether the company was among those lower-ranked applicants.
A government spokesperson said Bayshore partnered with Sault College, trained 3,600 people, and “exceeded performance goals.”
However, Ontario Liberal MPP Adil Shamji said it’s troubling that the same company tied to last year’s medical supply shortage received millions in funding.
“One year ago, home care and palliative care patients were struggling because of a huge shortage of medical equipment and supplies,” Shamji said. “Now that same company is getting millions in government funding — and we’re told it’s one of the best candidates? That raises serious questions.”
In a statement, Bayshore said it used the money to train nurses and personal support workers to help reduce wait times across Ontario.
“Partnering with Ontario post-secondary institutions, Bayshore used the Skills Development Fund to train more than 3,700 health care workers,” the company said. “Not all our applications were approved, but those that were helped expand health care capacity and shorten wait times.”
Bayshore’s government funding and lobbying
Records show Bayshore received funding in the first four rounds of the SDF:
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2021–22: $5.6 million
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2022–23: $9.5 million
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2023–24: $2.1 million
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2024–25: $1.4 million
That’s a total of $18.6 million from the Ministry of Labour to retrain workers.
Lobbying records show Bayshore hired government relations firms to promote its services and push for training programs for health-care workers.
The auditor general’s report said that low-scoring applications that hired lobbyists received $126 million in total funding — more than double what high-scoring ones with lobbyists received.
The Ministry of Labour said Bayshore’s most recent project got a “high” rating but didn’t say how the company scored in earlier rounds.
Shamji called on the government to release all application scores.
“Ontarians deserve transparency,” he said. “We need to know whether taxpayers are getting their money’s worth.”
Connection to Ontario Health atHome
Around the same time Bayshore first received SDF funding, it was also bidding for a major role with Ontario Health atHome, a new agency responsible for coordinating home care.
After its 2024 launch, the agency ran into serious problems, including supply shortages for patients in pain. The government had to refund $219,000 to affected patients — most of them Bayshore clients.
An investigation by Ontario’s Patient Ombudsman said no single group was to blame but admitted that “vendors were not fully ready” for the change.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones called the situation “unacceptable” and said the province acted quickly to restore supplies.
Bayshore said it improved tracking systems, hired more staff, and found alternative suppliers to fix the issue.
Still, Shamji said it’s concerning that a company with past delivery problems received so much public money while others were turned down.
“I know organizations that submitted excellent applications and were rejected,” he said. “Meanwhile, Bayshore — with a track record of major failures — keeps getting rewarded.”
