Ontario Premier Wants to Shield Himself from FOI Requests

Ontario Premier, Doug Ford, apparently doesn’t want to be subject to FOI because transparency is apparently bad.

Canada has a fun little concept called Freedom of Information (FOI). It’s a concept pretty similar to the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) system in the US. In short, any citizen can request a government document that is not already public. There are known limits, such as national security, but there are still a host of information that a citizen can request. There is a cost associated to these requests – especially when it happens to contain a lot of documents, but the government, in theory, is legally obligated to hand that information over. It’s a way for government to be transparent with its activities.

Such a system is used a lot in journalism. While the idea is great in theory, there have been numerous problems associated with this. One major problem is the fact that, sometimes, it can take months, if not, years to fulfill a request. In a case I’m familiar with, government can jerk me around by intentionally altering the request and telling me that there is either no such document or there are thousands of documents. Years ago, I requested documents surrounding ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). In one attempt, the response to that request was basically “no”. In another attempt, they told me that there are thousands of documents related to my request about “AFTA” (which was NOT what I requested). So, I know from personal experience that the government screws around with these requests to thwart transparency. Thanks to a lack of resources and time, I’ve been unable to make these requests in recent years.

Still, FOI is an important tool for people like journalists to get information about what the government is up to. The government has long been less than amused that such a system exists. This includes Ontario Premier, Doug Ford. Reports have surfaced that Ford wants to shield himself from FOI requests. From the CBC:

If passed, the new law will mean that government records — which can include everything from emails to data — from the office of the premier, cabinet ministers and parliamentary assistants will no longer be subject to freedom-of-information laws, meaning you won’t be able to get it.

The changes would also be retroactive, meaning any existing requests in the pipeline that deal with any of those offices could be put in jeopardy.

That includes ongoing battles by news organizations fighting for disclosures about the Greenbelt scandal and Ford’s cellphone records.

The maddening thing in all of this is that this is all done supposedly to “modernize” the system (the same excuse the federal government uses when pushing things like warrantless wiretapping laws, the Online Streaming Act, and a host of other terrible bills). Critics have noted that it’s this very system that has exposed a number of provincial scandals. From the National Observer:

The Ontario government wants to rewrite the law that compelled it to disclose documents revealing the Greenbelt land scandal, the Skills Development Fund controversy and others.

On Friday, Stephen Crawford, minister of public and business service delivery and procurement, announced that the province plans to exempt the premier, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants and their offices from requests filed under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Once the Legislature is back in session, Crawford will table a bill that will apply retroactively to all active requests and also extend the time period when government is required to respond. The province says its current system is outdated and “weakens clarity of protections for cabinet decision-making and undermines the confidentiality and candidness of discussions between ministers and their offices.”

Because the new legislation would be applied retroactively, it could also affect ongoing investigations, including those into the Greenbelt and Skills Development Fund. The former was a plan to develop farmland near Toronto, while the latter is a government fund that aims to address work shortages through training and other programs.

The current act allows the public — including journalists — to request government records, such as financial documents, briefing notes, emails and phone records from the premier and ministers. The rollback comes after a court ruled in favour of Global News, which filed a freedom of information (FOI) request asking for Premier Doug Ford’s personal phone records. The request was initially denied by the government.

The shift is deeply concerning for press freedom and government transparency, said Brent Jolly, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists. Putting this forward while the government is currently on a 14-week break is even more troubling, he said.

“You come up with a very controversial proposal, you throw the grenade, and then go and hide under the rug while everybody else sort of deals with the fallout and the consequences,” he said. “It just seems pretty juvenile, frankly.”

So, what is the grand excuse to end so much government transparency? The same excuse any right wing politician has when trying to pass such blatantly corrupt laws like this: scream “CHINA!!!” and throw out a whole bunch of other excuses. From the Canadian Press:

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is defending his government’s decision to exclude his office and those of his cabinet ministers from Freedom of Information (FOI) laws, saying the move is necessary to protect the privacy of his constituents and to safeguard information from foreign entities.

The Ford government announced Friday it would be moving forward on legislation to exclude the premier, his cabinet ministers and and parliamentary assistants from FOI requests.

The government’s move to increase secrecy around cabinet documents and decisions follows the loss of a court case brought by Global News over access to the phone records of the premier’s personal cell phone, which he uses instead of a work phone to conduct government business.

Asked about the move Monday, Ford said the changes are necessary because he wouldn’t want any of his constituents’ personal matters made public.

“People call me, 1,000 people a day on very personal, personal issues. There’s confidentiality. I was sworn to confidentiality for constituents, and I’m not going to release personal, confidential information about people’s lives. That’s what it comes down to and there’s cabinet confidentiality,” Ford said.

The excuses, for reasons that should be obvious, didn’t sit well with experts. From the National Observer:

“I feel like a psychologist every day, trying to solve everyone’s personal issues,” Ford told reporters.

“… There has to be confidentiality. People have to be reassured when they text me, it’s going to be confidential, and it will be confidential.”

However, the current FOIP Act already has requirements that protect personal information.

The case of Dr. Brooks Fallis helps demonstrate how this works, explained James Turk, director at the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University. Fallis is the doctor requesting Ford’s phone records. He is the former interim medical director and division head of critical care at William Osler Health System, and says he was let go from his position because of his criticism of the province’s inadequate handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Turk worked on the case with Fallis, who, through the FOI system, made a request to see if the head of the hospital had had a conversation with Ford. He noticed a big gap in the record the government provided of Ford’s phone log, which prompted the fight for the premier’s personal phone records. But even if Fallis were to receive the phone records, there wouldn’t be a transcript of the call — it would just show which calls had taken place.

Ford’s privacy claim also doesn’t hold water for journalist Dean Beeby, who specializes in FOI-based reporting. Not only does the act protect the privacy of citizens who may be captured in government records, but also that of public servants.

“He’s making this straw man argument that, if we let the law go as it is, ‘I’d have to disclose that my neighbour has a heart condition, he called me.’ That’s so much bull,” Beeby said.

“There is a very strong clause in the act that says [personal information] is not allowed to be released. It’s not even a discretionary thing. You cannot release it.”

Hilariously, even right wing organization, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, is upset at these plans. From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation:

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is urging the Ford government to cancel its plan to hide government records by watering down freedom of information legislation.

“Premier Doug Ford is trying to hide records from the public and roll back the ability of everyday taxpayers from holding the government accountable,” said Noah Jarvis CTF Ontario Director. “What is Ford and his cabinet trying to hide?”

Ontario’s freedom of information law allows all Ontarians to request copies of government records unless they breach privacy for individuals.

FOI laws allow taxpayers to view government expense records, policy documents, reports, internal communications and more.

“Every document the government produces belongs to the taxpayers because taxpayers fund the government and it is supposed to serve the people,” said Jarvis. “Politicians only want to hide documents from taxpayers if they’re doing something wrong or wasting a taxpayer dollars.”

“Ford needs to backtrack on this outrageous attempt to dodge accountability by hiding government records from the people.”

When a right wing politician loses the Canadian Taxpayer Federation. Ouch.

At any rate, I don’t buy the excuses, either. There has to be one heck of a compelling case for removing FOI accountability and Ford and his government simply didn’t provide anything close to that. Hopefully, this doesn’t go through because the last thing Canada needs anywhere is a weakening of the FOI system.

Drew Wilson on Mastodon, Twitter and Facebook.