Canada’s top court has agreed with the Ontario government that Premier Doug Ford’s mandate letters to cabinet are exempt from freedom of information laws. The Supreme Court of Canada judgement, which was heard by a seven-person panel in April, was released Friday morning. The court concluded the mandate letters did “reflect the view of the Premier on the importance of certain policy priorities and mark the initiation of a fluid process of policy formulation within Cabinet.
” In the ruling, Justice Andromache Karakatsanis pointed out that the premier and cabinet have the “prerogative to determine when and how to announce its decisions.” “Cabinet confidentiality both enables the proper functioning of responsible government by promoting collective ministerial accountability to the legislature and affords the executive the operational space it needs to function effectively,” she wrot