{"id":12089,"date":"2026-05-04T15:04:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T19:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ccla.org\/?p=12089"},"modified":"2026-05-04T18:00:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T22:00:42","slug":"op-ed-ontarios-government-wants-to-keep-you-in-the-dark-what-are-they-hiding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ccla.org\/fr\/libertes-fondamentales\/op-ed-ontarios-government-wants-to-keep-you-in-the-dark-what-are-they-hiding\/","title":{"rendered":"Op-Ed: Ontario’s Government Wants to Keep You in the Dark \u2013 What Are They Hiding?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Roughly every four years, voters elect a government and grant it significant powers and responsibilities. But winning an election does not mean one has been given carte blanche to act as they see fit until the next election. Governments must exercise public power in accordance with the constitution, and voters have the right to know how elected officials are using this power. Ontario\u2019s rushed amendments to freedom of information and privacy laws enacted a few days ago through the government\u2019s Bill 97, Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2026<\/em> directly attack both of these fundamental democratic principles.<\/p>\n

The amendments exclude documents, emails, call logs and any other records of the Premier, ministers, parliamentary assistants and their offices from the Loi sur l'acc\u00e8s \u00e0 l'information et la protection de la vie priv\u00e9e<\/em> ("LAIPVP<\/em>\u201d) \u2013 thereby ending Ontarians\u2019 statutory right to access these records. The exclusion goes so far as to attempt to discard the Supreme Court of Canada\u2019s \u201ccontrol test<\/a>\u201d, which was specifically calibrated to limit the risk that ministers will use exclusions like these to \u201cblack hole\u201d documents otherwise subject to disclosure obligations.<\/p>\n

Records requests have played a defining role<\/a> in the public debates that have shaped Ontario\u2019s political landscape over the years, including a number of recent public governance scandals. Let\u2019s not forget that it is thanks to freedom of information requests made by journalists that we know about the Greenbelt $8.28 billion land swap fiasco<\/a> and the public spending debacle regarding the government\u2019s Ring of Fire infrastructure project<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is particularly troubling that the legislative changes come in the wake of these scandals, as the government is giving itself a powerful tool to shield these types of documents from public scrutiny in the future. What is more, the amendments have retroactive effect, meaning that they threaten some outstanding requests and disclosure orders that the government has yet to respond to \u2013 including hotly contested<\/a> orders concering the Ontario Premier’s call records<\/a> on the eve of a threatened general strike and records about the ongoing Greenbelt and Skills Development Fund scandals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s declared intent is to protect confidential Cabinet documents and constituents\u2019 private information. Yet, the existing law has been adequately addressing<\/a> these very considerations for decades. Instead the Ontario government is attacking Ontarians\u2019 constitutionally protected right to obtain information on issues of public importance. These changes allow this and future governments to dodge public accountability for poor governance or flawed decision-making \u2013 the very reason why freedom of information benefits from a level of constitutional protection under s. 2 (b) of the Charte canadienne des droits et libert\u00e9s<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There is more. Through the recent changes, the government has also undermined a number of critical tools used to scrutinize its privacy and cybersecurity practices. It has exempted public sector cybersecurity evaluations from public disclosure requirements and is now also preventing disclosure of which companies have been given students\u2019 personal information through education procurement. Another transparency tool, which obligates the government to disclose which types of private information it is handling and why, is being completely removed.<\/p>\n

As a result, Ontarians will now have a harder time knowing how the government has addressed previous cybersecurity threats, the extent to which students\u2019 private information is being exploited by commercial companies, and, more generally, what the government is doing with their personal data. These measures will make it harder for the public to understand how decisions are made, how personal information is used, and whether the government is meeting its obligations to protect the people of Ontario.<\/p>\n

Finally, the changes allow the government to write itself a blank check when creating mass centralized databases of sensitive data within government. Up until last week, the government could grant itself wide-ranging internal access to Ontarians\u2019 sensitive health, education, tax, social services and other data \u2013 as long as effective privacy and cybersecurity standards approved by the independent Information and Privacy Commissioner were in place. Now, the government will be allowed to create its own privacy and cybersecurity rules.<\/p>\n

Making matters worse, the government decided to bypass legislative committee scrutiny and other forms of public consultation when pushing Bill 97 through, meaning that the concerns of journalists, civil society organizations and independent regulators were silenced. What emerges from the non-existent study of Bill 97 and the enactment of the new freedom of information and privacy provisions is a picture of a government that does not care about transparency, let alone accountability.<\/p>\n

The egregiousness of this law and behaviour cannot be understated. Access to government documents and information about how it conducts itself are crucial for democratic public discourse. Without meaningful access to government records, investigative journalists cannot expose poor governance or wrongdoing. Community members and civil liberties watchdogs \u2013 such as the CCLA \u2013 cannot hold the government to account. And voters cannot cast a truly informed ballot.<\/p>\n

At a time when governments around the globe and in Canada are scaling back fundamental rights and oversight mechanisms, Ontario has unfortunately found a new way to contribute to this trend. The government\u2019s approach is so troubling, and its timing is so peculiar, that one cannot help but wonder: What are they hiding?<\/p>\n

This Op-Ed was published today in Law360<\/a> and is authored by Ana\u00efs Bussi\u00e8res-McNicoll, Director of CCLA’s Fundamental Freedoms Program and Tamir Israel, Director of CCLA’s Privacy, Surveillance and Technology Program, with help from Henrique Oliveira, CCLA’s Public Interest Articling Fellow.<\/em><\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n<\/div><\/div>\n\t\t

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\u00c0 propos de l\u2019association canadienne sur les libert\u00e9s civiles<\/h3>\n
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L\u2019ACLC est un organisme ind\u00e9pendant \u00e0 but non lucratif qui compte des sympathisant.e.s dans tout le pays. Fond\u00e9 en 1964, c\u2019est un organisme qui \u0153uvre \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9chelle du Canada \u00e0 la protection des droits et des libert\u00e9s civiles de toute sa population.<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Pour les m\u00e9dias<\/h3>\n
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Pour d'autres commentaires, veuillez nous contacter \u00e0\u00a0media@ccla.org<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Pour les mises \u00e0 jour en direct<\/h3>\n
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Veuillez continuer \u00e0 vous r\u00e9f\u00e9rer \u00e0\u00a0cette page<\/a>\u00a0et \u00e0 nos plateformes de m\u00e9dias sociaux. On est dessus\u00a0Instagram<\/u><\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/u><\/a>, Twitter<\/u><\/a> et Ciel bleu<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Roughly every four years, voters elect a government and grant it significant powers and responsibilities. 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