The Legislative Assembly of Ontario coordinated on Thursday to exempt records held by ministers from freedom of information (FOI) requests. The change is said to have violated Ontario citizens’ right to transparency and privacy.
Bill 97, also known as Ontario Act Protection (Budget Measures) Plancontains several laws and amendments to implement its budget. The bill also includes an amendment to provincial law Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Actwhich protects the right of Ontario citizens to access government records, with limited exceptions. The amendment passed on Thursday adds subsection 65(18) to the law and excludes government records maintained by a minister or his office from the scope of the law. Because the change completely removes records held by Cabinet ministers and their offices from the legislation, the data protection protocols and safeguards in the legislation no longer apply to these records.
Adapted from Conservative lawmaker Steve Clark Movement On Tuesday, lawmakers skipped the public consultation process and moved on to third reading on Thursday.
The provincial information and privacy officer, Patricia Kosseim, was announced in March criticized the amendment for breach of the democratic principles of transparency and accountability. The commissioner warned that the change would weaken her oversight role by allowing the government to police itself over the use of Ontario citizens’ personal information. Kosseim too highlighted that the exclusion would allow government employees to access government records containing sensitive personal information via their personal devices. According to Kosseim, this increases the risk of cyberattacks and data breaches.
The change follows a provincial court ruling Verdict This required Premier Doug Ford to transmit government-related call logs from his personal cell phone to the commissioner. Global News, a Canadian news agency, requested These call logs were accessed three years ago when the Prime Minister regularly published the number, which is not used by any official device. The court affirmed the Commission’s order, stating that the Commission was correct to limit the order to obtaining only government-related call logs so that it could review the records before making access decisions. The three-member jury wrote: “This work would not have been necessary if the Prime Minister had used his government phone.” Because the change comes into effect retroactively, the law and court ruling no longer have any impact on Cabinet ministers’ previous government records.
In a press conference on March 16, Premier Ford said said The change is similar to practice at the federal and provincial levels. However, according to Kosseim, Ontario’s original legislation is this way consistent with eight provinces and territories and the Supreme Court of Canada interpretation of the federal government Access to Information Act.
The state government is currently facing the challenge Controversies when purchasing a C$28.9 million private jet and having it returned less than a week after purchase. Global News said The change would make it impossible to know which Cabinet member is responsible for the sale.
