Ontario's FOI Changes Face Scrutiny

0:00Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner is calling on the province to rethink major changes to freedom of information rules. Patricia Cossam says her office was not consulted before the government announced plans to give the premier, cabinet members, parliamentary, assistance, and their staff brought exemptions from these transparency laws. The new rules, unveiled by the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery, will pull these officials and their records out of freedom of information requests entirely. This comes right after a court ordered premier Doug Ford to turn over his personal phone, which he uses for government work, marking a recent loss for. The administration. Cossam worries this full exclusion, unlike exemptions and other provinces, could complicate checks on whether staff take sensitive info when they leave or of records face cyber threats. The government leaders are fired of two, with liberals and new Democrats saying it hides key oversight and protects the premier's phone records from.

1:00Public view. The government defends the move as standard across Canada to shield cabinet talks, but the commissioner questions if that's fully accurate. Green's echo that the reasoning doesn't add up. For now, Cossam's team plans to review any actual bill closely before deciding next steps, hoping to influence changes early while they're still. Time. Glory for today. Canada News Today, driven by AI, I'm Corey with The Story.