Ford's controversial FOI reforms spark backlash over secrecy and accountability
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has proposed sweeping changes to the province's freedom of information laws. The amendments, announced on March 13, 2026, would shield his cabinet's records—including past documents—from public scrutiny and extend response times for access requests. Critics argue the move weakens transparency rather than addressing security threats.
The proposed reforms to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) would make Ford and his ministers' records permanently secret, even retroactively. Response deadlines for freedom of information (FOI) requests would also stretch from 30 to 45 days. Ford claims the changes are needed to 'protect cabinet confidentiality' and guard against foreign interference, particularly from 'communist China'.
Opposition leaders have dismissed the justification. NDP Leader Marit Stiles accused Ford of using China as a smokescreen to avoid accountability. Liberal MPP Stephanie Smyth questioned what the premier was 'protecting himself from'. Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner labelled the move a clear attempt to 'dodge accountability'. Experts have also weighed in. Stephanie Carvin, a Carleton University professor specialising in security, stated that Chinese spy agencies do not rely on FOI requests for intelligence gathering. Meanwhile, Ontario's information and privacy commissioner, Patricia Kosseim, warned the changes would 'greatly diminish' her office's oversight and 'evade public accountability'. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation's Ontario director, Noah Jarvis, echoed concerns, asking what the government was trying to hide. Ford has insisted the reforms simply align Ontario's laws with federal and provincial standards, denying any wrongdoing. The changes are set to be tabled when the legislature reconvenes later in March but remain **proposed** as of March 17, 2026.
If passed, the amendments would grant Ford's cabinet broader secrecy while delaying public access to records. The reforms would apply retroactively, meaning previously accessible documents could be withheld. Critics maintain the changes prioritise government concealment over genuine security concerns.
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
