Premier’s office files saved in Google Docs excluded from Ontario transparency requests - BERITAJA

Official authorities documents written and saved successful Google Docs are nary longer covered by Ontario’s state of information laws, the state has decreed, arsenic its transparency clampdown continues to rotation out.

Until the opening of May, BERITAJA was engaged successful an appeal to get entree to 9 documents that were created by unit successful Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s agency but stored successful Google’s unreality work alternatively of unafraid authorities folders.

Now, successful the aftermath of a awesome overhaul to the province’s transparency laws, which excludes each of the premier’s furniture ministers and governmental unit from transparency requests, the entreaty looks group to beryllium cancelled.

“As of April 24, 2026, amendments to the Act came into unit that exclude definite categories of records from its application. These amendments were enacted done Bill 97, the Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2026,” a missive from Ontario’s furniture agency reads.

“We person reviewed your requests and wished the records you activity autumn wrong the removal nether the Act relating to records held by ministers, parliamentary assistants, and their offices. As a result, these records are excluded from the scope of the Act and are not taxable to entree rights.”

The missive is an progressively communal connection that is being sent to journalists, lawyers, advocates and members of the nationalist who person utilized the state of accusation strategy to petition documents from the government.

“This authorities is doing everything successful secret,” Ontario Liberal interim leader John Fraser said. “And why are you doing everything successful secret? Because you don’t want group to know, because you’re breaking the rules.”

A spokesperson for the premier’s agency insisted charismatic records person besides been kept.

“The records taxable to this entreaty were captured and reflected successful charismatic authorities documents,” they wrote successful a statement.

The documents BERITAJA had sought done the entreaty were draught policies, stakeholder feedback, a argumentation rollout scheme and remarks prepared for Ford to present to his furniture successful 2023.

They look to person been drawn up aliases circulated utilizing unsecured Google services alternatively of charismatic systems, contempt the truth that the authorities based on they are delicate and see specifications of furniture meetings.

The usage of Google documents and email alternatively of official, unafraid systems goes backmost years successful the Ford authorities and was a cardinal interest raised by the auditor wide during the Greenbelt scandal.

The auditor wide recovered unit had regularly utilized individual emails and devices to pass complete the onshore swap.

Meanwhile, Premier Doug Ford uses his individual telephone for government-related calls and is presently fighting a ruling by an Ontario tribunal that he must merchandise those records.

Ford’s main of staff, Patrick Sackville, has besides relied connected his individual email relationship and telephone to behaviour authorities business. In 2024, BERITAJA reported really Sackville regularly shared documents utilizing his individual Gmail account.

One of the auditor general’s recommendations aft the Greenbelt ungraded was for each unit to motion attestations pledging not to usage individual devices aliases accounts.

Those attestations, which were verified and signed disconnected by Sackville erstwhile he was Ford’s main of staff, are still being completed, the premier’s agency said.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner, however, has said the government’s caller state of accusation rules importantly summation the consequence of group utilizing individual devices for authorities work.

The caller rules exclude — alternatively than exempt — authorities unit from privateness and transparency laws, meaning civilian servants won’t person oversight of whether aliases not unit are utilizing activity aliases individual accounts.

“Allowing them to behaviour government-related business connected their individual email accounts and devices importantly increases the consequence of privateness breaches and cyberattacks,” the commissioner antecedently wrote successful a statement.

“These risks are further amplified erstwhile they support these individual email accounts and devices aft they time off government.”

The authorities has insisted that, moreover if those records won’t beryllium disposable done state of accusation requests, the integrity commissioner and auditor wide will still person access.

On Tuesday, Ontario’s auditor wide said she’d considered the issue, but offered nary specifications of really it could impact early audits from her agency if much activity moves to individual accounts.

“It’s thing I’ve talked to the privateness commissioner about because she has done a nationalist connection connected the changes to FIPPA and the truth doing authorities business connected a individual instrumentality … is not keeping a authorities record,” she said.

“The laws for privateness and for grounds retention is if you’re doing authorities business connected a instrumentality that that grounds beryllium retained.”