Ontario court upholds order to release government-related call logs from Doug Ford’s personal cellphone
Latest news on WhatsApp أجدد الأخبار على واتسابAn Ontario court has upheld a transparency ruling requiring the province to move ahead with preparing and disclosing call-log records tied to government business that were placed on Premier Doug Ford’s personal cellphone, rejecting the government’s bid to halt the release.
The decision, issued by a three-judge panel, leaves in place orders from Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner directing the government to process access-to-information requests for portions of the premier’s personal-phone call logs that relate to provincial business.
The dispute stems from a freedom-of-information request seeking records connected to government work conducted via Ford’s personal number. After the request was initially denied, the matter was appealed to the province’s privacy watchdog, which concluded that some of the records fall within the scope of Ontario’s access laws because they pertain to government operations, even though they originated from a personal device.
In dismissing the government’s judicial review application, the court emphasized the accountability purpose of access-to-information legislation and found the commissioner’s conclusions were reasonable on the evidence presented.
Ford’s office said it is seeking leave to appeal the ruling.
