‘They just wanted to get it done’: New freedom of information rules keep Ontario in the dark, warns MPP

By Paige Seburn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Lake Report How much should the public be able to see inside the government? Ontario’s latest budget bill, passed last week, is putting that question front and centre. The spring budget, Bill 97, changes freedom of information laws so that citizens can no longer use freedom of information requests to get records from the premier’s or cabinet ministers’ offices, even if those records are about government decisions. That rule also applies to past records. Individuals can still request documents from government ministries, but the new rules cut off access to the political offices where many key decisions are discussed and shaped. The move is being condemned by Ontario’s opposition parties and other critics as a violation by the Ford government of the…

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