Province of Ontario
Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy Act, 1988
The Receipt
What FOI showed us before
they closed the register
they closed the register
Transaction period: 2018 – 2026
Since 1988
Standard FOI Filing Fee
The price of asking your government a question. Anyone can file. For nearly four decades, this was the cost of entry to accountability.
$5.00
Nov 2025
The price of five more questions
The government quoted The Trillium ~$12,000 in fees for five additional SDF-related FOI requests. The newsroom launched a crowdfunding campaign to cover costs.
$12,000+
Jan 2026
External lawyers to fight bike lane ruling
FOI revealed $270K spent on outside counsel to fight a court ruling that removing bike lanes would "put people at increased risk of harm and death." Internal documents showed the government knew removal might not reduce congestion.
$270,000
Oct 2025
Skills Development Fund grants to low-ranked applicants
Auditor General found $742M in SDF grants went to projects ranked poor, low, or medium by civil servants — overridden by the Labour Minister's office. 64 of those projects hired registered lobbyists. OPP anti-rackets investigation launched.
$742,000,000
2023 – 2024
Ontario Place ads "in response to negative sentiment"
FOI revealed $2M budgeted explicitly to counter negative public reaction to the Therme spa deal. A second $1.74M campaign followed. Government initially refused to disclose the amount.
$3,740,000
2025
Ring of Fire ads — stock footage from Australia, Sweden, Russia
FOI revealed $7.5M spent on ads for a mining project at least a decade from opening. CBC verified zero footage was from the Ring of Fire. Total budget: $12.2M. Included $60K to remove a "shoe scene."
$7,500,000
2024–25 Fiscal Year
Record government advertising spend
AG found $111.9M on taxpayer-funded ads — the highest ever. 38% designed to create a "positive impression" before calling a snap election. Lifetime total since 2018: $452 million.
$111,900,000
2019 – Ongoing
Ontario Place / Therme — total public cost
Bidding process "not fair, transparent or accountable." Therme claimed 6 spa locations, operated 1. IO VP made forbidden contact with bidders. Parking plans dated 7 months before bid announced. Science Centre closed. Cost: $424M to $2.24B.
$2,240,000,000
· · · not everything has a price tag · · ·
2022 – Ongoing
Greenbelt: code words, personal emails, missing records
IPC found staff used "G*", "Special Project", and "SP" to evade FOI searches. Personal email for government business. "Near-total absence" of records for a policy worth $8.3B to developers. Won 2024 Code of Silence Award.
RCMP investigation ongoing
Dec 2022 – Mar 2026
Premier's personal cellphone records
Global News FOI for Ford's call logs. 3+ year court fight. Court ruled it "reasonable to conclude" Ford uses personal phone for government business. Today's retroactive bill would kill this case.
Retroactively eliminated
2018 – 2024
Cabinet mandate letters — 6-year court fight
CBC filed for 23 mandate letters in 2018. Government fought through IPC, Divisional Court, Court of Appeal. Won at Supreme Court after 6 years. The Greenbelt mandate letter to Steve Clark was later confirmed by the AG.
6-year legal battle to SCC
2020 – 2026
Child welfare deaths — data stopped
FOI revealed a child in Ontario's welfare system died every three days. 354 deaths 2020–2022. 134 in 2023. When the same FOI was filed for 2024–2025, the government said the reports no longer exist. They stopped making them.
Records ceased to exist
2023 – 2025
IPC forced to "intervene directly" with Solicitor General
Ontario's watchdog reported increasing non-compliance. Solicitor General ignored orders. Only restarted work when Global News sent questions — suggesting political interference in the FOI process itself.
Watchdog overridden
2024 – 2026
Public performance metrics quietly removed
Transit dates deleted. GHG targets scrapped. Housing tracker frozen at 2024. Hospital hallway metrics eliminated. Premier's office called the characterization "factually incorrect."
Scorecard erased
2020 – 2024
Ministerial Zoning Orders — same 7 developers
FOI and AG found many MZOs benefited the same cluster of developers. Internal emails showed municipal concerns overridden. PC donor connections documented.
Developer pattern exposed
2020 – 2023
COVID-19 long-term care — zero inspections, 7 weeks
Ombudsman: system "wholly incapable." Zero inspections for seven weeks during the deadliest period. AG: $1.4B in PPE written off. Government now burning expired equipment.
4,000+ LTC deaths
Mar 2026
Starlink/SpaceX cancellation — kill fee secret
Cancelled $100M contract with Musk's Starlink. Kill fee permanently confidential despite Ford's initial pledge to disclose. Announced same week as FOI restrictions.
Permanently confidential
2023
Premier's daughter's stag and doe
Integrity Commissioner revealed PC Fund Chair sold 20 tickets to developers. Commissioner cleared Ford of an Integrity Act breach but the optics remained.
Cleared, not clean
Jan 2025
FOI releases delayed past snap election
The Pointer documented every FOI request it filed — some from August 2024 — was delayed past the February 27 election. Extensions granted the same day Ford called the vote.
Voters in the dark
Items on this receipt19
FIPPA in effect38 years
Active police investigations2+
Outstanding court battlesMultiple
What we learnedAll of this.
March 13, 2026
The Ontario government announces
retroactive amendments to FIPPA
exempting the Premier, cabinet ministers,
parliamentary assistants & their offices
from Freedom of Information requests.
The new rule may cancel all current requests
and court cases seeking records from the premier,
cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants,
and their offices.
Response timelines extended to 63 days.
The changes apply backwards.
retroactive amendments to FIPPA
exempting the Premier, cabinet ministers,
parliamentary assistants & their offices
from Freedom of Information requests.
The new rule may cancel all current requests
and court cases seeking records from the premier,
cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants,
and their offices.
Response timelines extended to 63 days.
The changes apply backwards.
This register
is now closed
is now closed
"This government has probably been one of
the most transparent governments in the
history of Ontario."
— Minister Stephen Crawford, March 13, 2026
the most transparent governments in the
history of Ontario."
— Minister Stephen Crawford, March 13, 2026