A panel of three judges has thrown out an attempt by the province to stop the release of government calls on Premier Doug Ford’s personal cellphone, agreeing with Ontario’s transparency watchdog that they should be made public.
More than three years ago, Global News filed a freedom of information request seeking access to government-related calls on Ford’s personal phone, a number he regularly publicizes, while his official device is unused.
The request was denied by the government. Global News appealed the decision to the Information and Privacy Commission.
At the tail end of 2024, the IPC issued two rulings siding with the Global News freedom of information request and another similar appeal from an Ontario doctor seeking access to calls made on Ford’s personal cellphone.
The ruling concluded that some of the contents of the call logs on Ford’s personal phone “relate to a department or government business matter” and told the government to begin preparing to release those calls.
The Ford government, however, filed a request for a judicial review, asking an Ontario court to overrule the IPC. Arguments in the judicial review were heard last month, on Dec. 10.
Lawyers for the Ontario government and Doug Ford himself said the landmark decision was a “make-work project” that entertained irrelevant and unreliable evidence.
A lawyer representing the Ontario doctor and another for the IPC said the decision was correct and allowing the premier to “shield” his communications from transparency by using his personal phone would “undermine” democracy in the province.
Less than three weeks after hearing the arguments, the panel of three Ontario judges batted away the government’s request for a judicial review, ruling the IPC’s decision was correct and should stand.
“The conclusion that the Premier used his personal cellphone to conduct Cabinet Office matters is a finding of fact that attracts a high degree of deference,” part of the decision read, released on Dec. 29, read.
“The inference that the Premier used his personal phone for government business was a reasonable inference from other proven facts and the totality of the evidence that was available to the Adjudicator.”
Get breaking National news
The premier’s office said it is “seeking leave” to appeal the decision.
-
![]()
Doug Ford weighs in on battle to keep his cellphone records secret -
![]()
Ford says won’t release personal phone logs because of confidentiality -
![]()
Senior Ford government cabinet ministers barely using work phones, docs show -
![]()
Ontario NDP to push Premier Doug Ford to release personal phone records -
![]()
Government lawyers acknowledge Doug Ford uses personal phone for government business -
![]()
Ontario NDP files new complaint with integrity commissioner after Global News story -
![]()
Doug Ford’s use of personal cellphone questioned
The purpose of transparency laws
In their 16-page ruling, the panel of three Ontario judges disagreed with arguments from the government and the legal team representing Ford personally.
The decision emphasized the importance of freedom of information laws to ensure transparency and accountability, cautioning against ways in which politicians could change how they communicate to avoid scrutiny.
“It is now widely accepted that access to government information laws are vital tools of democratic practice, contributing to transparency, accountability and meaningful participation in public debate and political decision-making,” the panel wrote.
“The Decisions raise the important question of whether shielding phone logs from a personal cellphone that relate to departmental matters from public access would undermine the purposes of FIPPA”
Ford’s lawyers had argued accessing the personal phone records would be an invasion of privacy.
They said there had “never been an order such as this” from the IPC, arguing the data in the call logs would not offer any information in the public interest, but would instead “invite speculation, gossip and innuendo” and be a “springboard for misinformation.”
The judges disagreed, saying the IPC’s 2024 decision had established a “coherent and rational connection” between the evidence presented and the conclusion Ford uses his personal phone for government business.
“The Decisions are transparent, intelligible and justified,” the judges’ ruling said. “There is no basis on which this court should intervene.”
The panel pointed out Ford had chosen not to submit an affidavit swearing he does not use his personal phone for government business, a relatively common practice in IPC appeals.
“In many of the other IPC cases cited by the AG and the Premier, the government respondent submitted an affidavit,” the decision said. “The Premier was not required to submit an affidavit, but he clearly knew the case to meet.”
An avoidable task
During the appeal and the judicial review, representatives of the government and the premier argued it would be impossible and unreasonable to go through years-old call logs to work out who Ford may have spoken to in previous years.
Ford’s lawyer, Gavin Tighe, said it would be a “make-work” project for the premier that would sideline him from governing the province for weeks.
Paul Champ, who represented Ontario doctor Brooks Fallis and argued against the judicial review, said accepting personal cellphone use by Ford “frustrates the very purpose of freedom of information laws.”
Regardless of how onerous a task sorting his calls might be, Champ said the premier had brought about the situation by carelessly mixing the two. He suggested the appeal and its questions would have been avoided if the premier had maintained an active government and personal device.
Champ said Ford “chose to use his personal phone” for all facets of his communication, either “deliberately or recklessly.”
The ruling from the panel of judges appeared to agree with Champ.
“The work required to identify the government business in the call logs would not impair effective government,” the judges wrote.
“This is no different than when an institution is required to search voluminous records to find records that are responsive to a request. This work would not have been necessary if the Premier used his government phone.”
The premier’s office did not address questions from Global News asking if Ford had begun using his official phone for government calls.
Comments