Ontarians' right to know is under attack with Premier Doug Ford exempting himself, his cabinet, parliamentary assistants and all staff from Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, retroactively.

Premier Ford is claiming that sweeping changes to FOI laws are about ‘modernization’ and ‘cybersecurity,’ but leaves many wondering: what exactly is Doug Ford so desperate to hide?

It screams classic incumbent protection racket; an authoritarian-lite transparency dodge that lets those in power operate with far less accountability.

🇨🇦 Doug Ford claims there's "no one in this country" scrutinized more than him and slams the media's "double standard" after announcing he'll sell the nearly $30 million private jet recently purchased with taxpayer funds. pic.twitter.com/REwLFm1TJl

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 20, 2026

The premier is currently fighting in court to keep his personal cellphone records secret after the court ordered their release. The same phone that he uses for official government business, including calls with the prime minister, developers, and corporations.

Naturally, the Ford government's answer was to change the laws, retroactively, so the public never sees them.

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Senior staff already dodge scrutiny with the use of encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal, so while the FOI system isn’t perfect, it’s one of the few tools taxpayers, journalists and watchdogs have to hold government accountable.

But Ford just weakened that tool by ramming through Bill 97 in the 2026 budget omnibus. It was fast-tracked with no public hearings and has the ability to be retroactive for decades.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario had already warned that these changes would significantly limit public access to government documents, such as communication between the premier’s office, cabinet ministers, and political staff.

It makes sense given that scandals within his government are stacking up.

Labour Minister David Piccini was under formal investigation by the Integrity Commissioner over the $2.5 billion Skills Development Fund scandal, where he attended the wedding and sat rinkside at least one hockey game with grant recipients he directly oversaw.

The Auditor General found it wasn’t fair, transparent, or accountable.

Political staff overrode civil servants’ recommendations, while lower-scoring projects from companies linked to Picinni (and Progressive Conservative donors) received funding instead.

This fits the pattern of Greenbelt controversy, developer cronyism, and Ontario Place scandal, many of which were only exposed because of FOI.

Now this government is rewriting the rules to make sure the next round of questionable decisions stays buried.

Such as Ford’s recent purchase of a nearly $30-million luxury Bombardier Challenger jet for his exquisite travel needs. A plane that couldn’t even land at most Ontario airports.

He received massive backlash, and, days later, the plane was sold back.

Under the old rules, FOI requests could have been used to dig into every email, every text, every conversation that led to blowing that kind of money. But thanks to Ford’s legislative changes, those political communications are protected.

It screams entitlement, from a government that doesn’t want Ontarians looking too closely.

So what is Doug Ford hiding?

This is a sweeping rollback of transparency that weakens oversight where it matters most, at the very top.

During a time when modernization should mean stronger accountability, Ontarians of every political stripe are instead being asked to accept less scrutiny and less transparency from those who wield the power.