The Ford government is officially shutting down a freedom of information request to access government calls on the premier’s personal cellphone records, formalizing a transparency clampdown it announced in March.
Before politicians returned to Queen’s Park for the spring session, the government announced it would tighten Ontario’s transparency laws to offer near-blanket exemptions for the premier, ministers and all of their political staff.
The changes, which were brought in as part of the 2026 budget, were applied retroactively and meant that two court orders for Premier Doug Ford to release government calls on his personal device were effectively moot.
Earlier this year, a panel of three Ontario judges sided with Global News and upheld a ruling from the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) ordering Ford to disclose the government-related calls he makes from his personal device.
Then the appeal court dismissed the government’s request to overturn the decision, which came as part of a years-long transparency battle centring on a week of call logs on the premier’s personal phone from the week the government decided to allow development on protected lands in the Greenbelt.
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The appeal court decision briefly put an order back into effect, telling civil servants to begin work to obtain the premier’s cellphone records.
That was until the government issued a new decision, claiming the premier’s records are exempt after it changed the law.
“In brief, the request is denied because it falls outside the scope of the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act,” the letter, sent to Global News and the Information and Privacy Commissioner, read.
“In accordance with section 65(18) of the FIPPA, which provides that the FIPPA does not apply to records in the custody of a minister of the Crown or the minister’s office, the Request for entries, if they exist, fall outside the scope of the FIPPA. Cabinet Office will not be seeking to obtain any of the impugned records from the Premier.”
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Ford had passed legislation designed to overturn his legal loss.
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“You don’t change the law to clamp down on transparency unless you have something to hide,” she said in a statement.
“It couldn’t be clearer that Doug Ford gutted Freedom of Information laws to cover up his tracks. The people of Ontario deserve to know what’s so bad that the Premier is ready to change the laws of the land to hide it.”
The government has made retroactive, sweeping changes to the freedom of information laws to update them and bring them in line with other jurisdictions.
Ford has acknowledged that the changes, at least partly, are motivated by court rulings on his cellphone.
“When it comes to a cabinet conversation within cabinet and on personal cellphones that should not be FOIable,” he said in May, before accusing assembled journalists of looking to publish deeply personal information.
“And I know you guys, you’ll pull out every single number and someone’s health records. You’ll do everything you can if you don’t see eye to eye with someone.”
The premier’s office did not offer a comment for this story, saying Ford’s previous comments stand.
People need to look at what is happening south of us and wake up. Ford is doing the same things, just on a smaller scale. There should be rules that prevent governing bodies from changing laws to help themselves. We pay the bills, they need to be transparent about our money. Anything they do that impacts the people of this province, I should be available for people to scrutinize. You don’t want that level of scrutiny, do become a servant of the public. A word that seems to have been forgotten, government are “servants”. That means their jobs are in service to us, not themselves and their buddies.
This goes for all government.
What does he have to hide. And I am sure us, Ontarians are paying for him to fight this in court. He needs to go.
Liberals/Conservatives – all are not fit for purpose. Time to tear down this government and start anew.
Typical Canadian media… Always distracting from the abysmal liberals.
1.4 TRILLION dollar national debt under the liberals, only G7 country in a recession, 2.3 million Canadians lining up monthly at food banks….
But every article is about ford, pollievre or trump 😂
Absolutely disgusting.
Elbows up 🤡
Developers and legal, get their calls too. Decades of “development” and “planning” led by greedy people in government, law offices and company boardrooms. They’ve wrecked Toronto and the surrounding communities.
Doug Ford got in on the platform that he was for the people. I’m an avid conservative member, but I’m starting to have second thoughts about his motives.
If he had nothing to hide, why did he change this ruling not too impressed with his performance?
Criminal, criminal, criminal! Slug ford belongs in prison!
But the law wasnt in place when the request was made. So he should be forced to turn over the records up until his self serving law began
Regular FOI doesn’t work well its no wonder he got away with it
ford id a little Trump wake up Canada get rid of him now
Here we go
Now Mr Ford can do all the calls to his friends and try to get as much money as he can without worrying that his cellphone records will be seized
Time for election out with with Doug the fraudster
Let’s call an election now
This ‘for the people’ guy needs to be held accountable for his grifting on taxpayers dime. He couldn’t care less about the everyday person, just trying to enrich all his friends.
Ford cant decide whether he wants to emulate Trump.or the LPC
On this he sided with the LPC
This is a blantant way to hide his crimes! Doug Fraud works for us and we have every right to see what he is saying on his private phone when he uses it for work as well as his work phone Maybe time for the Supreme Court of Canada to look into Doug. If he has nothing to hide why does he fear us seeing it. Our government works for us and as taxpayers we should be able to see what if anything they are up to, especially when they go to these great lengths to hide the information from us!
Yeah, time to take the pos to court.