TORONTO — The Ontario government has passed its spring budget after a late-night sitting at Queen’s Park, advancing controversial changes to Freedom of Information (FOI) laws that critics say will reduce government transparency.The $244.2-billion budget, introduced by Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government, passed third reading by a vote of 57–33 after the government used its majority to fast-track the legislation and bypass committee hearings.The bill includes provisions allowing cabinet ministers and the premier to withhold certain office records, including communications conducted on personal devices. The changes are retroactive, meaning they apply to past records.The move follows a January court ruling ordering Ford to release call logs from his personal cellphone related to government business, in response to an FOI request filed by Global News and supported by Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.Ford had resisted releasing the records, arguing they could contain confidential constituent information, despite existing FOI processes that allow for redactions..During debate, opposition members and observers in the legislative gallery voiced objections, with some chanting “F-O-I” as votes were counted.Opposition parties said the changes weaken accountability and limit public access to information that has historically exposed government decisions and controversies, including the Greenbelt land swap and other policy missteps.Interim Liberal leader John Fraser criticized the retroactive nature of the legislation during question period, suggesting it could shield past actions from scrutiny.“By lunchtime today, it will be law and it will be retroactive,” Fraser said. “So there must be something really, really, really bad on your cell phone.”Ford defended the changes, saying they are intended to protect sensitive constituent communications rather than obscure government activity.“No premier in the history of this country has given his cell number out to actually help people,” Ford said in the legislature. “I’m not going to hand out personal information.”The government has argued that the amendments align Ontario’s rules with practices in other jurisdictions and maintain that the majority of government records will remain accessible under FOI laws.The budget also includes new spending and policy measures, such as increased funding for primary care, a tax cut for small businesses, expanded transit initiatives, and an extension of the One Fare program.In legislative debate captured during question period, opposition members repeatedly linked the FOI changes to broader concerns about transparency and accountability, while government members emphasized economic growth, infrastructure spending and job creation as central priorities.The legislature is now set to recess for a constituency week following the passage of the bill.
