Overview
- The legislature passed the budget bill with the freedom‑of‑information changes after a rare late‑night debate and sent it for royal assent.
- The overhaul blocks access‑to‑information requests for records created by the premier, cabinet ministers and their staff, including emails, texts and phone logs tied to government work.
- The changes apply retroactively, ending many active requests and appeals and reversing several court rulings, including an order to seek Premier Doug Ford’s November 2022 call logs.
- The government skipped the usual committee stage for public input, and the bill passed on a recorded vote of 57–33.
- Ontario’s information and privacy commissioner warned the shift would leave the province less transparent than other jurisdictions, and opposition leaders condemned it as undemocratic and pledged to try to reverse it.