Ontario watchdog ‘intervening’ after solicitor general ignores transparency orders
Ontario’s transparency watchdog says it has been forced to intervene “directly” with the solicitor general’s office after a “recent trend” in which the ministry responsible for law enforcement is defying quasi-judicial orders.
There have been several instances in recent years, including some involving Global News, where the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) has told the solicitor general’s office to release information or confirm a decision, only for the government to ignore the decree.
In one instance, the solicitor general’s office refused to send notes from Premier Doug Ford’s driver to an adjudicator at the transparency watchdog. In another, it ignored an order to render a decision on a two-year-old request.
Those two examples appear to be part of a pattern involving Ford’s solicitor general’s office, which is responsible for policing and public order.
“Recently, our office has been seeing an increase in non-compliance with our orders from certain institutions compared to historic trends,” a spokesperson for the IPC told Global News in response to questions about an order it had issued to the solicitor general.
“In light of this recent trend, we are intervening directly with the Ministry of the Solicitor General to address this matter and secure its compliance with our orders.”
The IPC did not specify which other institutions may be failing to comply with its orders.
The Solicitor General’s office said in a brief statement that it “makes all efforts” to respond to freedom of information requests and “ensure compliance” with the law.
Critics, however, are worried the government is routinely ignoring the rules to avoid accountability and frustrate public access to information.
“The government is trying to protect itself and wants to keep their cards close to their chest and not have to disclose them unless they absolutely have to,” Ontario Liberal MPP Lucille Collard said.
“It’s a political game.”
Ministries and other public institutions in Ontario are governed by privacy and transparency rules which allow members of the public, media and opposition parties to access many government documents, decisions and communications upon request.
When requests are denied or ignored, they can be appealed to the IPC, which is tasked with ensuring compliance.
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The watchdog can then order public institutions to provide information or decisions if they’ve failed to do so, and an adjudicator decides they should. The orders have statutory authority but aren’t legally enforceable unless someone goes to court to get a judge to tell the government to comply.
“It is an offence to wilfully fail to comply with an order of the IPC, which provides a strong incentive for institutions to meet their compliance obligations. Very serious matters can be referred to the Attorney General for prosecution,” the IPC spokesperson explained.
Compliance is not guaranteed. On more than one occasion, the solicitor general’s office appears to have either defied or ignored orders to release records or confirm decisions.
As part of a 2023 appeal from Global News to view notes kept by Premier Ford’s drivers, the ministry refused to send the documents to an adjudicator with the IPC.
An order was issued and ignored. The commissioner met with the solicitor general’s office to “discuss the issue,” and eventually the adjudicator was forced to find a time to view the records in person instead of receiving a copy, as they had requested.
At the time, the IPC acknowledged the “inordinate delay caused by the ministry’s decision not to provide the records.”
It did not have an alternative, however, because it is not able to enforce its own orders if a government body ignores them. Instead, applicants have to go to court to them followed.
That’s an issue the IPC said it has repeatedly asked the government to address.
“Over the years, the IPC has made recommendations to government on how to modernize FIPPA and MFIPPA, which have included the recommendation to give the IPC this explicit statutory authority,” the IPC said.
“Unfortunately, our efforts have not been successful to date, but we will continue to advocate for this enforcement power.”
Concerns of political interference
The IPC’s statement that the solicitor general’s office is part of a trend of growing non-compliance stems from a request Global News filed almost two years ago, looking for information about expansion plans for an Ontario Provincial Police detachment in northern Ontario.
Privacy officials with the solicitor general’s office repeatedly delayed its release, ignoring updates for months at a time. Over the summer, after an appeal, the IPC released an order telling the government to render a decision by early September.
As it had with some orders in the past, the ministry did not respond at all, missing the deadline to comply with the request.
More than two months after the deadline had passed, Global News sent questions to Solicitor General Michael Kerzner’s office, asking why the order was being defied.
Those questions appeared to trigger a cascade of actions.
The same day, privacy officials restarted work on the file, saying it had “slipped through the cracks.” Kerzner’s director of issues also called, explaining that the political office had reached out to the civil servants handling the request to get an update on the status of the request.
Kerzner himself said he didn’t know about the individual order, but said it wasn’t an issue of staffing or capacity that was behind the delay.
“No, no — but we’ll look into the matter,” he said when asked. “We’ve got a great ministry, we’ve got two super deputy ministers, deputy solicitor generals, and we’ll look into that.”
The rapid involvement of political staff in the freedom of information file in response to a media request raised concerns about potential political interference.
Collard said she was worried that if the minister’s office could speed up a request, it could also slow down those that are politically prickly.
“It probably applies both ways,” she said.
“It’s hard to tell whether there’s any mingling from the minister’s office on those requests to (ask) a civil servant just to sit on them.”
The weather outside might be frightful but, depending where they live, some Ontario residents may soon get a reprieve from the snow — though only some.
Snow warnings are in effect for several parts of central and southern Ontario, with Environment Canada using its new alert system to issue yellow warnings for snowfall.
The new system now adds a colour to each weather alert — yellow, orange and red — to show the seriousness. Yellow alerts are issued when hazardous weather may cause damage or disruption, or impact health. These weather events are likely moderate, localized, and/or short term.
Current yellow warnings stretch south to cities such as London, Kitchener and Guelph, west to Manitoulin Island and north to Huntsville and Cedar Lake.
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Parts of the Greater Toronto Area are also under warnings including Peterborough, Markham, Milton and Vaughan.
These areas are forecast to see additional snowfall on Sunday, though the amounts vary. Places such as Cobourg and London expected to see two to five centimetres, while other areas, such as Kitchener and Manitoulin Island, are forecast to recieve five to 10 centimetre.
Environment Canada says the snow is expected to transition to flurries in most areas, and will likely to change to rain showers midday in several communities.
There are also several special weather statements in effect for some cities, with some, including Sault Ste Marie and West Nippissing-French River, expected to see between five and 10 additional centimetres of snow into the evening.
Those facing the snow are urged to make additional time for travel. Snow buildup will make roads and walkways difficult to navigate and visibility will be reduced.
Other cities, such as Niagara Falls, Kingston and the majority of the Golden Horseshoe, including Toronto and Hamilton, are under a special weather statement for strong winds.
Those winds are expected to begin later this morning, with strong southwesterly gusts that could hit 60 to 70 km/h. The winds will ease in the evening, but Environment Canada cautions that local utility outages are possible.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Toronto Fire crews remained on scene Saturday afternoon as a complex highrise fire at Thorncliffe Park Dr. and Overlea Blvd. continued to burn behind walls, with officials still unable to give residents a timeline for when they can go home.
Toronto Fire said they have made “positive” progress, but the blaze remains extremely difficult to access.
Acting Division Commander Robert Houston said firefighters have been “actively fighting a stubborn fire” for more than 48 hours and that early in the response they discovered “high levels of carbon monoxide throughout the building.”
All 408 units across the two towers were evacuated. No injuries have been reported.
The Red Cross is providing emergency assistance, delivering accommodations and food for 117 households and 239 people as of Saturday morning.
Officials said residents were moved from an initial hub into hotels.
One of those displaced is single mother Mohamee Muhammad, now staying with her daughter at a hotel in the Don Valley.
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They have been provided a card to buy meals but only have guaranteed accommodation until Dec. 2.
“You have to take it one day at a time,” Muhammad told Global News.
Her daughter Aisha learned about the fire from her school principal.
“I just hope we can go home back soon,” she said, adding the experience is deeply disruptive. “I wasn’t expecting this. I just thought it would be a normal day until I got the call.” She was permitted to briefly enter to retrieve her school supplies.
Another resident, Nihal Sheikh, said his wife called him while he was at work to say the building was being evacuated. They have a two-month-old and two other young children.
“Things happened suddenly,” he said. “It was so chaotic.”
He said responders escorted him upstairs to retrieve medications and diapers. “We don’t know what’s going on… we are just getting updates from fire department and police.”
Houston said temperatures and carbon monoxide levels have “successfully lowered,” but crews still “do not have eyes on the fire… just behind walls,” relying instead on heat readings and air monitoring.
He confirmed “there is no timeline” for when residents can return. “We just can’t see. We’re in the middle of trying to mitigate the situation.”
Earlier on Friday, Fire Chief Jim Jessop said the blaze is being fuelled by insulation burning “slowly” between the walls of both towers, creating “high levels of carbon monoxide” due to “incomplete combustion.” Crews had recorded readings of 850 parts per million, a life-threatening level.
Jessop said he expects it to be a “prolonged event,” with no estimate on when it will be brought under control. Once it is, it will still take firefighters another 24 hours to ensure there are no flare-ups.
Crews were first called around 1:30 p.m. Thursday to reports of “light smoke” on multiple floors at 11 Thorncliffe Park Dr., before the fire spread into the adjacent building at 21 Overlea Blvd.
City officials thanked emergency responders and urged any remaining displaced residents to contact the Red Cross, saying, “The most important thing is that everybody in this community is safe.”
– With files from Gabby Rodriguez
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Broccoli florets sold under the Your Fresh Market brand are being recalled across several provinces due to possible Salmonella contamination, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says.
The CFIA issued the recall Friday for packaged broccoli florets distributed in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
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Consumers are urged to check their refrigerators and dispose of the product or return it to the place of purchase. The agency says the product should not be eaten, sold, served or distributed.
Food contaminated with Salmonella may look and smell normal but can still cause illness.
Symptoms can include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Young children, pregnant women, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for severe illness.
The CFIA says anyone who believes they became sick after eating the product should contact a health-care provider.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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