"If passed, the new law will mean that government records which can include everything from emails to data from the office of the premier, cabinet ministers and parliamentary assistants will no longer be subject to freedom-of-information laws, meaning you won't be able to get it. The changes would also be retroactive, meaning any existing requests in the pipeline that deal with any of those offices could be put in jeopardy."
"Making the FOI changes retroactive could wipe out hundreds of requests, says James Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University. It's obviously going to have a significant reduction in government accountability, he said."
"FOIs are a way for the public to access information from public institutions and have been used by journalists to report groundbreaking stories ranging from the controversial closure of the Ontario Science Centre to the state of Ontario's jails."
Ontario is proposing legislation that would exempt the offices of the premier, cabinet ministers, and parliamentary assistants from freedom-of-information (FOI) laws. This exemption would prevent public access to government records including emails and data from these offices. The changes would apply retroactively, jeopardizing hundreds of existing FOI requests currently in process, including investigations into the Greenbelt scandal and the premier's cellphone records. The proposal has generated significant opposition from privacy experts, opposition parties, and Ontario's privacy commissioner. Experts warn the retroactive application could eliminate ongoing battles by news organizations for critical disclosures. The government claims these are the first major FOI changes in 40 years, though amendments have occurred since the legislation's introduction in 1988.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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