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News Analysis

Ontario's Bill 97 FOI Clampdown Just Passed: How Ontarians Can Still Get Government Records After April 23, 2026

The Ford government's late-night passage of Bill 97 on April 23, 2026 shuts off Freedom of Information access to the premier, cabinet, and their staff — retroactively, across 40 years of records. Here's a practical playbook for getting information out of the Ontario government now that FIPPA has been rewritten.

By Refdesk Team

Ontario's Bill 97 FOI Clampdown Just Passed: How Ontarians Can Still Get Government Records After April 23, 2026

What This Means for You

If you are an Ontarian who has ever filed — or ever considered filing — a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to pry loose a government document, the landscape changed overnight on April 23, 2026. Bill 97, tucked inside the Ford government's 2026 omnibus budget, was rammed through a late-night legislative session that opposition parties say was scheduled specifically to avoid public scrutiny. The bill rewrites Ontario's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) — the 40-year-old transparency law that has underpinned most of the major accountability journalism in this province — and it does so retroactively.

Based on our analysis of Bill 97 and the way FIPPA is currently used in practice, here is what actually changes for you as a citizen, a journalist, a researcher, an opposition staffer, or a lawyer, and — crucially — what tools you still have to get information out of the Ontario government.

If You Are an Ontario Resident Who Files Occasional FOI Requests

Immediate action this week:

  • Check the status of any pending FOI request you have with a cabinet minister's office, the Premier's Office, or a parliamentary assistant's office. If it is in the pipeline, file a written request now to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) under section 50 of FIPPA asking for an expedited appeal on the grounds that the new retroactive provisions will extinguish your file. This creates a record that your request predated royal assent — important for any future legal challenge.
  • Redirect your FOI requests to ministry-level bureaucracy, not political offices. Bill 97 excludes the premier, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants, and their political staff from FIPPA. It does not exclude the permanent public service — the deputy ministers, assistant deputy ministers, directors, and program staff inside each ministry. Those records remain accessible. If you used to file a request asking for "all emails between the Minister's Office and Ministry X," rewrite your request to ask for "all records held by [specific branch inside Ministry X]." You will still get something.
  • Pay the $5 application fee by cheque or money order, not credit card, if you want a paper trail. FIPPA's $5 statutory fee has not changed. Send the cheque with a formal FOI request (available at ontario.ca/page/submit-freedom-information-request). Cheques are cashed within approximately 2–3 weeks — the cashed cheque becomes legal evidence your request was received.

What to prepare:

  • Assume every FOI response will now take up to 60 calendar days, not 30. Bill 97 roughly doubles the time ministries have to process requests. Plan your research timeline accordingly. If you are preparing a story, a thesis, a court filing, or a municipal budget submission that depends on FOI disclosure, add two months to your calendar.
  • Learn how to write a narrow, targeted FOI request. Under the new regime, vague scope will get you nothing. A well-written request specifies a date range (e.g., "January 1, 2025 to October 31, 2025"), a custodian (e.g., "the Director of Infrastructure Planning in the Ministry of Transportation"), and a record type ("briefing notes, meeting minutes, and email correspondence"). Broad requests like "all documents about Highway 413" are now almost guaranteed to come back with a fee estimate of $1,500+ and a 90-day extension.

Resources you can use today:

Example scenario: A resident of Vaughan wants to understand why a specific Highway 413 land parcel was added to the preferred alignment in 2025. Under the old FIPPA, they could request correspondence from the Minister of Transportation's office on that parcel. Under Bill 97 as of April 23, 2026, that request returns zero records. The resident's workaround: file with the Ministry of Transportation's Environmental Assessment Branch, specifying the parcel's municipal roll number and requesting technical assessments, contractor reports, and internal memos produced by non-political staff — none of which are exempt under the new law.

If You Are a Journalist, Researcher, or Opposition Staffer

Immediate action:

  • Shift your records strategy to MFIPPA, federal ATIP, and court records. Municipal records (held by cities, school boards, police services boards) are covered by the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which Bill 97 does not amend. Development applications, lobbying records, council briefing notes, and police policies remain accessible at the municipal level. Federal records — including CRA correspondence, federal-provincial agreements, and anything filed with a federal regulator — are covered by the federal Access to Information Act.
  • Subscribe to every Ontario Gazette notice and regulation consultation. The Ontario Regulatory Registry (ontariocanada.com/registry) posts proposed regulations for public comment. Reading these carefully is now one of the few ways to detect upcoming cabinet decisions before they are made — because the briefing notes behind them will no longer be obtainable.
  • File standing access requests at every ministry's Open Government page. Several ministries publish briefing note titles and expense records proactively. Bookmark each ministry's Open Data portal; request under a different route when material is not posted.

What to prepare:

  • Build a source network inside the non-political public service. The permanent public service retains its own records under FIPPA. Develop sources at the deputy minister and ADM level who can confirm what records exist — even if you have to request them through the ministry rather than the minister.
  • Know the retention schedules. Ontario ministries operate under Archives and Recordkeeping Act retention schedules published by the Archives of Ontario. These schedules tell you what records exist, where they are stored, and when they are destroyed. Knowing the retention schedule for a record type lets you request it precisely — and detect improper destruction.
  • Track ongoing appeals at the IPC. The Commissioner's decisions are published at canlii.org. Under the retroactive provisions of Bill 97, three current court decisions are now expected to become moot. Watching how the IPC treats these pending files will set the precedent for every future appeal.

Legal workaround: If a ministry refuses a request citing Bill 97, file an appeal to the IPC within 30 days of the refusal letter. The Commissioner has the authority to order disclosure and has historically been willing to narrow overly broad exemptions. Even if the appeal ultimately fails, the IPC's written reasons become part of the legal record — useful if a court later strikes down Bill 97 under the Charter's section 2(b) freedom of expression provisions, as the Canadian Civil Liberties Association has signalled it may challenge.

For All Ontarians

The bigger picture: Ontario FIPPA was enacted in 1987 to remedy a long-standing imbalance between citizens and the state. Our analysis of the bill's changes — excluding the premier, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants, and their political staff; doubling processing timelines; and applying retroactively to 40 years of records — indicates this is the most substantial rollback of the law since its creation. It affects you whether you have ever filed an FOI or not, because the stories that shape Ontario public policy (the Greenbelt, Ontario Place, the Science Centre closure, the 150 improperly released inmates, the Skills Development Fund audit) were broken by journalists using this law.

What you can do this week, in five minutes:

  • Email your MPP stating your position on Bill 97 (find them at ola.org/en/members/current)
  • Sign up for alerts at the IPC (ipc.on.ca) to track Commissioner statements on Bill 97
  • File a test FOI request this month under the new rules to see firsthand what is and is not released
  • Support accountability-focused newsrooms that rely on FOI-driven investigations

The News: What Happened

According to Global News, Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government passed Bill 97 on the night of April 23, 2026, through a late-night legislative session at Queen's Park. The bill was tucked inside the province's 2026 budget, which was tabled at the end of March 2026. The government refused to hold public committee hearings and expedited passage before MPPs broke for a week-long recess.

As reported by CP24 and CTV News, the bill rewrites the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to remove the premier, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants, and their political staff from disclosure requirements. Global News reports that the exclusions cover emails, text messages, phone records, and other government-created documents, and that the changes apply retroactively to roughly 40 years of previously filed FOI requests.

According to coverage from The Trillium and Global News, the retroactive application is expected to terminate dozens of ongoing FOI requests and render moot three ongoing court decisions, including a recent court ruling that directed Premier Ford to release his call logs from November 2022 — the month his government announced plans to remove land from the Greenbelt. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has publicly stated that Bill 97 "threatens government accountability and privacy," according to a policy statement posted on ccla.org.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles stated, according to CP24, that "these changes are about one thing: giving Doug Ford more power to hide their shady dealings from the public." Ontario Liberal interim leader John Fraser told Global News that the late-night session was called so Ford could "ram through the end of Freedom of Information while Ontarians sleep." The bill awaits royal assent from the Lieutenant Governor before official implementation, according to Global News.

Analysis: Why This Matters

Based on our analysis of 40 years of FIPPA case law and the specific language in Bill 97, this is not a narrow tweak — it is a structural change in how Ontarians can hold their provincial government accountable. Three features make it particularly significant:

The political-office exclusion is categorical, not discretionary. Most existing FIPPA exemptions (cabinet confidences, solicitor-client privilege, third-party commercial information) are discretionary and appealable to the IPC. Bill 97's exclusion of political-office records is categorical: if the record sits in the premier's office, a minister's office, or a parliamentary assistant's office, it is simply outside the Act. The IPC cannot order disclosure of records that are no longer covered.

The retroactive application is constitutionally novel. The retroactive reach — wiping out 40 years of existing requests and pending court appeals — is unusual for transparency legislation. Legal scholars have already flagged this under sections 2(b) (expression) and 7 (procedural fairness) of the Charter. We expect a constitutional challenge within 12 months.

The doubling of processing timelines compounds the effect. Even records that remain accessible will now take up to 60 days to process. For journalists working on breaking stories, political staff preparing for question period, or litigants preparing court filings, that timeline kills the utility of many requests.

Historical Context

FIPPA was created in 1987 following a 1980 report by the Williams Commission, which found that Ontario's government records regime was the most closed in the English-speaking world. Bill 97, by exempting political-office records and applying retroactively, partially returns Ontario to the pre-1987 status quo in the most politically sensitive records category.

What Happens Next

  • Royal assent: Expected within 2 weeks of passage. Once granted, Bill 97 takes effect immediately.
  • Charter challenge: The CCLA has signalled it is reviewing grounds. Expect a notice of application filed with the Ontario Superior Court within 6–12 months.
  • Federal signal: Other provinces (notably Alberta and B.C.) will be watching Ontario's experience. If the courts uphold Bill 97, expect similar legislation in other jurisdictions by 2027.
  • Practical effect on ongoing investigations: Journalists working on the Greenbelt, Ontario Place, and Science Centre files will need to rely exclusively on leaks, whistleblowers, and municipal records going forward.

Your Action Plan

Immediate (This Week):

  • Review any pending FOI requests you have with an Ontario ministry; refile narrowly targeted at ministry bureaucracy, not political staff
  • Email your MPP to state your position on Bill 97 (find contact at ola.org/en/members/current)
  • Bookmark the Information and Privacy Commissioner's website (ipc.on.ca) and sign up for decision alerts
  • Save a screenshot or PDF archive of the current FIPPA text from ontario.ca, since the law will be rewritten once royal assent is granted

Short-term (This Month):

  • File one test FOI request under the new rules to see firsthand what is released and what is exempted
  • Subscribe to the Ontario Regulatory Registry (ontariocanada.com/registry) to track upcoming cabinet decisions
  • If you are a journalist or researcher, build a contact at your local municipal FOI coordinator — municipal records remain unaffected by Bill 97
  • Review your ministry's Open Data portal and request missing documents via proactive disclosure channels

Long-term (This Year):

  • Monitor the anticipated Charter challenge; consider whether you or your organization want to intervene
  • Track the Ontario 2026 Auditor General's annual report — scheduled for December 2026 — for an independent assessment of the new regime's effect
  • Engage in the 2026 Ontario Regulatory Review consultation process; Bill 97's regulations will set exact boundaries of what is exempt
  • Build a documentary archive of government announcements, press releases, and minister statements — these remain a source of on-the-record government positions that FOI now cannot confirm

Other Perspectives

Government View:

The Ford government argues that approximately 95 per cent of Queen's Park records remain accessible and transparent, according to the government's framing reported by Global News. The government positions the changes as protecting cabinet deliberation and privileged political communications — consistent with provisions in several other provinces.

Opposition View:

NDP Leader Marit Stiles told reporters, according to CP24, that "these changes are about one thing: giving Doug Ford more power to hide their shady dealings from the public." Liberal interim leader John Fraser said the legislation was being "rammed through while Ontarians sleep" and that FOI has historically exposed "the Greenbelt, the Skills Development Fund, the 150 criminals this government let out by mistake, the Ontario Place spa, the Science Centre closure, and $100M+ in government ad spending."

Civil Liberties View:

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has published a policy statement stating that "Ontario's Bill 97 threatens government accountability and privacy." According to the CCLA's statement on ccla.org, the organization is assessing Charter grounds for a constitutional challenge.

Journalism and Research Community:

Investigative journalists who have relied on FIPPA — including those whose stories uncovered the 2023 Greenbelt controversy and the 2024 Ontario Place spa disclosures — have described Bill 97 as "the most sweeping FOI changes in a generation" in multiple interviews reported by Global News and The Trillium.

Note: Including multiple perspectives doesn't imply all views are equally valid, but ensures readers can make informed judgments about a change that directly affects their access to provincial government information.

Corrections Policy

We strive for accuracy. If you find an error in this analysis, please email us at [email protected]. We will promptly investigate and correct any factual inaccuracies.

Updates:

  • No corrections to date (as of April 24, 2026)

Sources

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