{"id":104391,"date":"2026-05-05T08:45:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=104391"},"modified":"2026-05-05T08:45:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:45:19","slug":"they-just-wanted-to-get-it-done-new-freedom-of-information-rules-keep-ontario-in-the-dark-warns-mpp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/they-just-wanted-to-get-it-done-new-freedom-of-information-rules-keep-ontario-in-the-dark-warns-mpp\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018They just wanted to get it done\u2019: New freedom of information rules keep Ontario in the dark, warns MPP"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Paige Seburn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Lake Report How much should the public be able to see inside the government? Ontario\u2019s 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\u2019s or cabinet ministers\u2019 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\u2019s opposition parties and other critics as a violation by the Ford government of the… <\/p>\n

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By Paige Seburn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Lake Report How much should the public be able to see inside the government? Ontario\u2019s 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\u2019s or cabinet ministers\u2019 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\u2019s opposition parties and other critics as a violation by the Ford government of the... <\/p>\n

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Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018They just wanted to get it done\u2019: New freedom of information rules keep Ontario in the dark, warns MPP - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/they-just-wanted-to-get-it-done-new-freedom-of-information-rules-keep-ontario-in-the-dark-warns-mpp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018They just wanted to get it done\u2019: New freedom of information rules keep Ontario in the dark, warns MPP - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Paige Seburn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Lake Report How much should the public be able to see inside the government? 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