President’s Message: Preserve access to information, preserve democracy

We’ve all had a moment where a game wasn’t going our way and wished we could change the rules. Certain teams would have more Stanley Cups! But as public servants, we know the truth: it wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be fair.

We’ve learned a lot through Freedom of Information Requests, from the Greenbelt scandal to the loss of good jobs in Thunder Bay. Thanks to Freedom of Information requests, we’ve learned that Bill 124, which was supposed to be a cost saving measure, cost the taxpayer at least 4.3 million dollars in legal fees. Freedom of Information requests are an important way to ensure that the government is accountable to and honest with citizens.  

That’s why it’s so disturbing that the Premier is trying to change these rules—and not just going forward. The changes will mean that records of the Premier, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants and their offices would no longer be subject to freedom-of-information laws in a retroactive manner that will impact present day lawsuits and investigations the government itself is amidst.  

Alarm bells are in fact being rung by Officers of the Legislature, namely at the Information and Privacy Commission of Ontario (IPC), where AMAPCEO is also amidst first contract collective bargaining. The Commissioner at IPC has noted that changes will seriously undermine transparency and accountability, as Freedom of Information requests are integral to providing insight into how the government arrives at their decisions, and whether those decisions are in the people of Ontario’s best interests.  

We all know you can’t change the rules of a game because you don’t like the calls people are making. And this is more than a game at stake: this is our democracy and the public’s best interests. The people of our province have a right to know how decisions are made and how money is spent.  

Privacy laws need to be modernized, but limiting access is not the answer. Erasing the past is not the answer. I urge the government to preserve citizens’ rights to access information, no matter how uncomfortable it may sometimes be, and in doing so, preserve democracy.