With the rise of technology comes a breadth of knowledge and information readily available to the public. However, the start of 2024 has brought the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling in Ontario (Attorney General) v. Ontario (Information and Privacy Commissioner), 2024 SCC 4, which set aside the decision of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario ("IPC"), a decision which had been affirmed by both the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal for Ontario. In this decision, it was held that in certain circumstances the confidentiality of the executive outweighs the public's right to information.
BACKGROUND
This decision arose from a CBC journalist's request to access the 23 letters that the Premier of Ontario had delivered to each of his ministers shortly after forming the government in 2018. These letters are commonly referred to as "mandate letters" and they set out the Premier's views on policy priorities. The Cabinet Office declined the journalist's request, claiming that the letters were exempt from disclosure under s. 12(1) of Ontario's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act ("FIPPA"). This section protects the confidentiality of records that would reveal Cabinet deliberations. More specifically, it outlines:
Cabinet Records
12 (1) A head shall refuse to disclose a record where the disclosure would reveal the substance of deliberations of the Executive Council or its committees, including,
(a) an agenda, minute or other record of the deliberations or decisions of the Executive Council or its committees;
(b) a record containing policy options or recommendations submitted, or prepared for submission, to the Executive Council or its committees;
(c) a record that does not contain policy options or recommendations referred to in clause (b) and that does contain background explanations or analyses of problems submitted, or prepared for submission, to the Executive Council or its committees for their consideration in making decisions, before those decisions are made and implemented;
(d) a record used for or reflecting consultation among ministers of the Crown on matters relating to the making of government decisions or the formulation of government policy;
(e) a record prepared to brief a minister of the Crown in relation to matters that are before or are proposed to be brought before the Executive Council or its committees, or are the subject of consultations among ministers relating to government decisions or the formulation of...
