Researchers concerned the changes could catch on in other provinces
Carly Penrose
13 May 2026
Investigative Journalism Foundation
In less than four minutes on a Thursday afternoon, Ontario lawmakers voted to drastically restrict more than 40 years’ worth of government information that had previously been routinely available to reporters, researchers and the public.
I know, because a provincial officer told me as much last week.
As a reporter who covers lobbying, I use freedom of information (FOI) requests as one way to go beyond the limited information available in public registries and find out how influence really operates behind closed doors. In March, I filed a routine request for records held by the Ontario Ministry of Energy and Mines regarding lobbying on mining claims and access to the Ring of Fire region in Northern Ontario.
After the 30-day response period was up, I got a note from a provincial FOI officer. Completing my request would result in more than 1,400 pages of results, take an extra 120 days and cost at least $180.
Shortly after offering to tweak the request for a shorter timeline and lower fee, I got another email from the officer, this time telling me that though my request had not materially changed, because of new legislation, I ran the risk of receiving nothing at all.
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