Ontarians oppose Ford government freedom of information changes, poll finds

A recent poll suggests that 60 per cent of Ontarians oppose the Ford government’s changes to the Freedom of Information law.

A poll commissioned by Ontario’s largest public sector union shows widespread disapproval of the Ford government’s recent changes to freedom-of-information (FOI) laws.

Abacus Data surveyed 1,000 Ontarians between March 20 and 23, a week after the provincial government announced records of the premier, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants, and their offices will no longer be subject to public disclosure.

The poll found 60 per cent of those asked oppose the FOI changes, while 24 per cent support them. Another 16 per cent are unsure.

Among Progressive Conservative voters, only one in three endorsed the overhaul, while 53 per cent of party voters said MPPs should vote against the proposal.

There is strong disapproval of making the FOI changes retroactive – effectively ending a lengthy legal battle to access Doug Ford’s cellphone records. Seventy-three per cent of those asked don’t believe the move should be allowed.

“It is rare to find such agreement among people in such a vast province, among different age groups, and among different political ideologies,” CUPE President Fred Hahn told CTV News Toronto in an interview.

“I think this demonstrates that the Premier is out touch with the people of Ontario. I hope that seeing these results, he might take this information to heart.”

Ford has dismissed the criticism, arguing the changes bring Ontario in line with other provinces and the federal government.

He also said it is also about protecting his phone records. The premier contends releasing them would reveal the personal and health information of residents who send him text messages, but that type of information is already protected.

• READ MORE: Doug Ford says privacy commissioner opposing record restrictions ‘politically driven’

Respondents to the Abacus poll are sceptical of the government’s rationale that the changes were done to update a law that has been around since the 1980s.

A majority of Ontarians (64 per cent) believe the new restrictions are more about reducing accountability than modernizing the system.

The poll has a margin of error of +/-3.09 percent 19 times out of 20.

With files from The Canadian Press