TORONTO – Ontario is set to make Premier Doug Ford and cabinet members’ records secret as it “modernizes” freedom-of-information laws, though the minister in charge of the changes says it increases the province’s transparency to taxpayers.
The changes will also be retroactive and put in jeopardy numerous ongoing battles by news organizations fighting for information about the Greenbelt scandal and Ford’s cellphone records.
Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement Minister Stephen Crawford said the changes to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act will be tabled soon, when the legislature returns after a three-month break.
That law already provides protection to cabinet ministers, but it wasn’t enough, Crawford said.
“This government has probably been one of the most transparent governments in the history of Ontario,” he said.
He said the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act has not been updated in nearly 40 years.
He repeatedly denied the government was making the changes to hide anything embarrassing.
“We’re following the Westminster tradition of cabinet confidentiality,” Crawford said. The current law already exempts records that would reveal cabinet deliberations.
The current freedom-of-information laws present “unnecessary privacy risks for the government and public,” Crawford said.
The province will also lengthen freedom-of-information response timelines from 30 calendar days to 45 business days, or about 63 days.
Crawford said the province’s auditor general and information and privacy commissioner will still be able to compel cabinet to produce records.
He said the move to shield cabinet from records requests is in line with most other provinces in the country as well as the federal government.
He also announced the government would be strengthening its cybersecurity laws.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2026.
