Doug Ford’s Regime Imposes Bill 97
Doug Ford style: talk tough about accountability while quietly pulling up the drawbridge.
Doug Ford just rammed through a sneaky bill that makes it way harder for regular Ontarians to find out what their government is really up to. Tucked inside the 2026 omnibus budget bill, these changes to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act basically build a big wall around the premier, his cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants, and all their staff. From now on, their emails, texts, phone records, meeting notes, and pretty much any political chatter they create will be off limits to the public. And yeah, it applies retroactively too. Nice timing.
The government calls it “modernizing” a 40 year old law and bringing Ontario in line with other places. They say it protects cabinet confidentiality and stops sensitive stuff from leaking. Premier Doug Ford even admitted part of the rush was to kill a Global News request for his personal cellphone records. He has been fighting that one in court for years because he prefers using his own phone for government business instead of an official device. Oops, court was about to make him hand some over, so time to rewrite the rules.
Critics are not buying the spin. The Information and Privacy Commissioner slammed the move, saying it will make Ontario less transparent than the feds and hide government related business to dodge accountability. Opposition leaders called it an attack on democracy. NDP boss Marit Stiles said Ford is going to great lengths to bury records on scandals like the Greenbelt land grab, the skills development fund mess, and the fancy new government jet purchase. Without FOI, journalists and watchdogs lose one of their best tools to connect the dots.
Skipping public hearings made it even worse. The Tories fast tracked the whole thing through late night sessions at Queens Park and shut down committee debate. No chance for experts, journalists, or everyday folks to push back. A recent poll showed most Ontarians hate the idea, with over 60 percent against it. People get that when the top dogs can operate in secret, bad decisions slide through easier and corruption becomes tougher to spot.
Look, some privacy tweaks might make sense in 2026 with all the cyber risks out there. But blanketing the entire political layer in secrecy feels like a power grab, not progress. Civil service records might still be somewhat accessible, but the real decision making happens in those political offices. Shielding them means we will know less about why policies get made, who gets favours, and where our tax dollars actually go.
This is classic Doug Ford style: talk tough about accountability while quietly pulling up the drawbridge. Ontarians deserve better than a government that changes the game the moment the spotlight gets too bright. If they have nothing to hide, why work so hard to hide it? Transparency is not a luxury. It is how we keep politicians honest. Ford just made that job a whole lot tougher, and that should worry every taxpayer in the province.
