The business of government is the public’s business

The Ford government’s announcement on the Friday afternoon before the March Break that it intends to introduce legislation which will exclude the records of the premier, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants and their offices from disclosure under freedom of information legislation has provoked widespread condemnation. Rightly so.

On introducing Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation in 1985, Attorney-General Ian Scott acknowledged that information made public because of FOI could harm the political fortunes of the government of the day. He concluded, “That potential risk, that potential cost, can and must be borne in the interest of freedom.”

All three parties had previously introduced FOI bills. None had passed. When the Liberal government came into office in June 1985, one of its first pieces of legislation was a freedom of information and protection of privacy law, a central item of the Liberal-NDP Accord. Indeed the Liberals had campaigned on the issue and said it would be a priority for them if elected.

Overcoming reluctance

The Liberal cabinet was well aware of the reluctance of entrenched governments to shed light on their activities. More than one minister cautioned that “if we don’t pass this now, we may not want to six months from now.”

The bill was introduced within 16 days of the government being sworn in, public hearings held, and useful amendments accepted from NDP and PC opposition. All three parties supported its passage.

The FOI disclosure provisions allow for exemptions for such matters as law enforcement, relations with other governments, tax returns, trade secrets and other financial information. The parliamentary tradition of Cabinet secrecy is ensured by exempting Cabinet records.

Critically, disclosure decisions by ministers and government officials can be reviewed by an independent commissioner accountable only to the legislature, not the government.

This independent protection has drawn the ire of Premier Ford. He objects to a recent court decision affirming an Ontario Information and Privacy Commission ruling that the Premier’s personal cell phone call logs that related to government business must be made public in response to a request.

Forty years of access

For almost 40 years, five different Ontario Premiers from each of the three parties have lived with that balance. What justifies reversing course now?

Premier Ford says that the rules must be amended because technology has changed. That is spurious. It should make no difference whether a memo is on paper or screen, stored in a file drawer or a hard drive, or whether a call is over a landline versus a cell phone. It’s the fact of communications that matter, not the form.

Nor is a change necessary to protect the privacy of constituents and citizens who contact government ministers and staff; that is already enshrined in the privacy provisions.

Exposing government waste, corruption or abuse

Over the years, information obtained through FOI requests from citizens and the press has been critical to exposing alleged government waste, corruption, or abuse. Recent examples include the gas plant controversy during the McGuinty government, and the proposed giveaway of protected Greenbelt lands and the Skills Development Fund imbroglio under Ford’s own government.

The proposed exemptions run counter to the spirit of the freedom of information legislation, as well as the letter of the law. As Information and Privacy Commissioner Kosseim said “Freedom of information laws exist to provide Ontarians with vital information about how government decisions are made, on what basis, who influenced them, and whether the public interest is being served.”

The solution is not to change the law for political convenience. It is for Premier Ford to embrace accountability and transparency as integral to democratic government.

 — This article was co-authored by Tom Zizys