. Ontario (AG) v. Ontario (Information and Privacy Commissioner)
In Ontario (AG) v. Ontario (Information and Privacy Commissioner) (Ont Div Ct, 2025) the Ontario Divisional Court dismissed a JR, this brought by the AG against two IPC orders that "found the Cabinet Office had control over those entries of Premier Ford’s personal cellphone call logs that related to government or departmental matters under s. 10(1) ['Right of access'] of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act".
Here the court considered the broad (avoiding) 'application' provision of FIPPA s.65 ['Application of Act']:
[17] The IPC found that the entries relating to departmental matters and therefore under the control of Cabinet Office may still be excluded from the application of FIPPA by s. 65 or may be subject to an exemption from the general right of access. In other words, the information that the IPC found under the custody or control of Cabinet Office may still be subject to the personal privacy exemption in s.21(1) of FIPPA which also would have been the case if the Premier had made calls on his government-assigned cellphone. Accordingly, the IPC found that, despite the claims of Cabinet Office and the Premier, there was no infringement of the personal privacy rights of any individuals, including the Premier. Rather, the Decisions stand for the proposition that information relating to government or departmental matters is under the control of the appropriate institution to ensure the public has a right of access to it, subject to any exemptions or exclusions in FIPPA.
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