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TORONTO \u2014 Ontario Premier Doug Ford\u2019s government broke its legal, record-keeping obligations amid its now-reversed decision to open up parts of the protected Greenbelt lands for housing, the province\u2019s information and privacy commissioner has found.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Political staff were using code words to thwart document requests and left a surprisingly small paper trail for such a consequential policy, commissioner Patricia Kosseim wrote as part of her annual report.<\/p>\n
A number of freedom-of-information appeals her office received on Greenbelt-related requests revealed concerning, systemic issues, she wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Greenbelt-related appeals offer a clear example and cautionary tale about the consequences of inadequate recordkeeping,\u201d the IPC report said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen key government decisions are not properly documented, when code words are used, or when records are stored in fragmented ways across personal and official systems, transparency suffers, and with it, public trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to issues previously highlighted by the auditor general around political staff deleting Greenbelt emails and using personal accounts, the government sometimes used code words in communications.<\/p>\n
Staffers sometimes referred to the Greenbelt project in messages as \u201cspecial project,\u201d or \u201cGB,\u201d or \u201cG*,\u201d with references to G* being next to impossible to find. Those terms and their inconsistent use made it \u201cunduly difficult\u201d to search for Greenbelt-related records, Kosseim wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorse, the use of the code word \u201cG*\u201d made it virtually impossible to find relevant records, given that the asterisk (\u201c*\u201d) is used as a technical wildcard when conducting text searches, returning any word starting with \u201cG,\u201d she wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That meant having to forego using the code word \u201cG*\u201d as a search term, so some Greenbelt records may have been missed, Kosseim wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese practices not only violate legal record-keeping obligations, they also erode public trust in the integrity of government decision-making,\u201d she wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe public has a fundamental right to know how and why decisions are made, especially those that impact protected lands like the Greenbelt. When records are obfuscated and made difficult, if not impossible, to find through evasive code words, transparency is compromised, and oversight becomes illusory.\u201d<\/p>\n
But there was also a \u201csurprising\u201d lack of Greenbelt documentation at all, which undermines transparency, Kosseim found.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe near-total absence of decision-making documentation is particularly concerning, especially on a file as high profile and consequential as changes to the Greenbelt,\u201d the report said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite evidence of meetings and discussions involving premier\u2019s office staff and ministry staff about the Greenbelt, there was very little documentation of what was said or decided in those conversations, aside from a few contemporaneous notes taken by ministry staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
The RCMP is in the midst of an investigation into the government\u2019s decision to remove 15 parcels of land from the Greenbelt to remove 50,000 homes \u2014 a process the auditor general and integrity commissioner have found favoured certain developers.<\/p>\n
Premier Doug Ford\u2019s office says the government has taken several steps to strengthen record-keeping practices, including reminding staff to preserve and manage records in accordance with requirements and holding training sessions, and will continue to comply with legal obligations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NDP Leader Marit Stiles said \u201cenough is enough,\u201d because the last time political staff were found to be deleting government records, one went to jail.<\/p>\n
A top aide to former premier Dalton McGuinty was convicted of illegal use of a computer relating to his destruction of potentially embarrassing documents about the Liberal government\u2019s costly decision to cancel two gas plants before the 2011 provincial election.<\/p>\n
Stiles said there should be consequences for these new failings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen will the premier finally answer for the disturbing culture of dodging accountability and disappearing records within this government?\u201d she wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s report makes it clear that the Ford government broke the law while trying to cover up their Greenbelt carve-up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a92025 The Canadian Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n