In ruling that the Ontario government is not required to turn over Cabinet mandate letters, the Supreme Court of Canada has adopted a broad and expansive view of Cabinet confidentiality. The Supreme Court's decision brings clarity to not only the scope of protection afforded to Cabinet records under freedom of information legislation, but more broadly to the constitutional sanctity of Cabinet secrecy.
Background
At issue in Ontario (Attorney General) v. Ontario (Information and Privacy Commissioner), 2024 SCC 4 (IPC) was a request by the CBC for disclosure of mandate letters prepared by the Premier of Ontario on taking office in 2018. The letters identified the priority policy initiatives the Premier expected Cabinet ministers to pursue during their tenure.
The CBC made its request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSO 1990, c F.31 (FIPPA). In refusing to produce the mandate letters, Cabinet Office relied upon the "Cabinet records" exemption in s. 12(1) of FIPPA, which protects from disclosure records that "would reveal the substance of [Cabinet] deliberations."
The...
