Ontario's FOI Law Changes: A Step Backwards?

0:00Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner Patricia Kasim is pushing back hard against the Ford government's plan to tighten freedom of information laws. She says these changes will make the province less transparent than the federal level, especially after court's rule that premiered Doug Ford's. Personal phone records from government business must be public. The moves came right after those rulings, which changed on who controls records tied to official work, not just who holds the device. Now the new bill excludes any records under the control of cabinet ministers or their staff, letting personal emails and phones handle public. Decisions without disclosure? Kasim warns this opens doors to privacy breaches and cyber attacks, risks that grow when officials leave office still using those devices. Polls show most folks oppose it, with only 24% in favor and up to 65% against, while opposition parties vow to scrap it. If they win power, the changes would even apply retroactively back to 1988, making Ontario the least open in Canada.

1:03The government minister behind it dismissed Kasim's views, noting she's lost cases before, even as the province has dropped several court fights on, transparency. This budget bill heads to committee next, so the fight over Ontario's openness is far from over, with big questions on how much government business stays hidden from view. I'm Corey with the story that your Canada News today update AI powered and always on.