Ontario in secrecy-by-default mode, critics say after blue licence plate reversal
Released records show bureaucrats weighed $2 million to $2.5 million in replacement options before Ontario chose to wait for the plates to age out.
- Ontario released documents regarding the replacement plan for plates with visibility issues after abandoning a court challenge to an Information and Privacy Commissioner's order earlier this year.
- While bureaucrats presented options costing up to $2.5 million to replace plates, the government chose a zero-cost approach, deciding to wait for the plates to disappear through natural attrition.
- This transparency case follows legislative changes exempting all records of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, cabinet ministers, and staff from freedom-of-information requests; Liberal ethics and accountability critic Stephanie Smyth argued this treats accountability as an inconvenience.
- Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner suggested the province fought this release to avoid disclosing more substantive materials, calling secrecy the government's default setting.
- The office of Ford stated the judicial review was filed "to preserve optionality," though government lawyers abandoned the challenge shortly after, while documents reveal internal debate continued into late 2022.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Ford government is in secrecy-by-default mode, critics say after blue licence plate documents released
Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government is in secrecy-by-default mode, opposition critics say after reviewing the content of blue licence plate documents the province had been prepared to fight the release of in the courts.
The Toronto Star
Ontario in secrecy-by-default mode, critics say after blue licence plate reversal
TORONTO - Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government is in secrecy-by-default mode, opposition critics say after reviewing the content of blue licence plate documents the province had been prepared to fight
Ontario in secrecy-by-default mode, critics say after blue licence plate reversal – 105.9 The Region
TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government is in secrecy-by-default mode, opposition critics say after reviewing the content of blue licence plate documents the province had been prepared to fight the release of in the courts. The province’s information and privacy commissioner ordered the release of documents earlier this year on the government’s plan to get the plates with visibility issues off the roads, after the government denied a 20…
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