The Ontario Attraction Courtroom has dismissed the federal government’s try to cancel an order telling civil servants to entry Doug Ford’s private name logs, reactivating a requirement for the premier handy over his data.
Earlier this yr, a panel of three Ontario judges sided with World Information and upheld a ruling from the Info and Privateness Commissioner (IPC) ordering Ford to reveal the government-related calls he makes from his private machine.
The choice got here as a part of a years-long transparency battle centring on per week of name logs on the premier’s private cellphone from November 2022, when the federal government determined to permit growth on protected lands within the Greenbelt
A divisional courtroom ruling, in addition to an order from the IPC, concluded Ford makes use of his private machine to make official calls and talk authorities choices.
Each ordered the premier handy his data to civil servants so they may kind via them to find out which calls have been in his official capability as premier.
Days after the ruling got here down in January, the federal government stated it deliberate to attraction the choice.
However on Might 19, the attraction courtroom dismissed that request.
A spokesperson for the premier’s workplace stated it was “reviewing the Ontario Courtroom of Attraction’s choice and figuring out subsequent steps.”
Premier should hand over name logs
The Ontario Courtroom of Attraction’s choice has a sequence of knock-on results.
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After World Information gained its attraction to the IPC on the finish of 2024, the transparency watchdog penned an order that instructed Ford to offer civil servants his name logs for them to work out what calls must be made public.
Attorneys representing each the federal government and the premier personally sought a judicial assessment of that order and requested the IPC to droop its demand till a call was reached, arguing that going forward might hurt the premier.
The IPC agreed and instructed civil servants to pause makes an attempt to entry the premier’s cellphone till the courtroom problem was resolved.
Now that the attraction has successfully been misplaced, the order to get cellphone data from the premier’s cellphone is lively once more.
The IPC wrote to the federal government on Friday, notifying civil servants they need to start work to adjust to it once more.
“On Might 19, 2026, the Ontario Courtroom of Attraction dismissed the ministry and affected celebration’s request for go away to attraction,” an adjudicator for the IPC wrote.
“Accordingly, I now raise the keep on Order PO-4577-F and reinstate the… order provisions.”
Particularly, the letter instructed civil servants to “get hold of from the affected celebration any authorities or departmental associated entries from his private mobile phone’s name.”
It additionally set a 30-day deadline for them to hunt the data from the premier, work out which calls have to be launched and make their choice public.
Whereas the premier should once more formally hand over his data, it stays extremely unlikely he’ll truly be pressured to take action.
The method will probably be considerably sophisticated by a retroactive overhaul of freedom of knowledge guidelines that the Ford authorities handed in April.
As a part of the 2026 funds, the Progressive Conservatives retroactively modified transparency legal guidelines in Ontario to offer authorities workers and cupboard ministers close to blanket immunity from freedom of knowledge requests.
The modifications exclude the premier, his cupboard, their parliamentary assistants and workers from entry to data requests.
Additionally they exclude them from transparency oversight and privateness protections put in place to guard private knowledge and delicate authorities paperwork.
As a result of the legislation is retroactive, it’s prone to nullify the courtroom ruling by permitting civil servants to revise their preliminary choice and determine that the premier’s cellphone data are now not coated by transparency legal guidelines.
It stays unclear when and the way the federal government would possibly do this.
All freedom of knowledge workers within the Ontario authorities have been instructed to pause their work for greater than per week after the brand new legislation handed, whereas leaders belatedly developed pointers on methods to apply the brand new legislation.
If privateness and transparency officers with the federal government do challenge a brand new choice exempting Ford’s private cellphone from launch, a spokesperson for the IPC identified it may be appealed.
“Cupboard Workplace is accountable for contemplating and making use of the legislation because it at the moment stands, together with any related amendments underneath Invoice 97,” they wrote in an announcement.
“Any entry choice made by an establishment could also be appealed to the IPC in accordance with Ontario’s entry and privateness legal guidelines.”
© 2026 World Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
