Freedom-of-information (FOI) laws give people the right to obtain records from public institutions, especially the government. That’s our information. These laws exist in every jurisdiction in Canada and in countries around the world, and serve as a vital check on power.
For the health of democracy, I’m calling on the Conservative government to fix Ontario’s clearly flawed Freedom of Information laws.
Last Thursday, in Estimates hearings at Queen's Park I asked the Minister for Red Tape Reduction about the government’s handling of FOIs. I think it's fair to say that the Minister did not provide satisfactory answers to my questions. No detail, no clear figures.
The documents provided to us in advance of the hearings state that 95% of freedom of information requests are met within the legislative timeline of 30 days. I find this statistic hard to believe.
In 2023, the Globe and Mail investigated Ontario’s FOI process and found that the average response time was 122 days. The percentage of requests that were completed in more than 30 days was 64%, not 95%.
The government's figures simply don't add up.
I also asked the government to provide a summary of not just timelines for when they respond to requests, but whether or not the applicant gets the information they asked for.
Democracy isn’t served if the government quickly pens a letter denying someone a request to information they’re entitled to see.
I asked this question, because the Globe and Mail's 2023 investigation also found evidence that shows the Ontario government is not even routinely providing full access to information.
They discovered that:
- 34% of respondents got full access to the information they requested.
- 33% of respondents got partial access.
- 24% of respondents got no documents.
- 3% of respondents got denied.
The numbers tell us what we know: we need to fix Ontario’s flawed Freedom of Information laws.
Jessica Bell
MPP, University-Rosedale