‘Denied and obfuscated': Ford government forced to release Eglinton LRT, Ontario Line emails
Since the summer of 2023, Global News has been trying to obtain access to emails between former Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster and Premier Doug Ford's chief of staff, Patrick Sackville, using freedom of information laws.
The government refused to disclose six months' worth of messages between the pair covering the first half of 2023. It argued that the messages contained economically sensitive information and advice to the government, among other reasons.
Releasing them, Ontario claimed, could lead to economic harm, make it harder to enter into new contracts and disincentivize staff from providing frank advice to politicians.
Story continues below advertisement
A lengthy freedom of information appeal followed. During that process, Global News confirmed Sackville had lost months' worth of texts after resetting his cellphone.
Global News also agreed to only pursue a portion of the messages between the two men to speed up the hearings. The appeal ended, after close to two years, with the Information and Privacy Commission ordering the government to release several pages of withheld messages.
A spokesperson for the premier's office said decisions on what to release and what not to are made by non-political staff.
'Non-partisan public officials apply exemptions to records as applicable under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,' they wrote in a statement. 'As noted in the decision, the adjudicator did uphold the application of exemptions in this appeal.'
The ruling said the government was right to withhold one of seven pages. It was ordered to release the other six.
Duff Conacher, the co-founder of the advocacy group Democracy Watch, said he believes that governments use the lengthy appeal process to slow the release of unflattering information.
'Anyone in government knows the freedom of information system can easily be played through the exemptions and loopholes and complaint process to drag out and keep things secret for two, three years — even longer,' he said.
Story continues below advertisement
Eglinton Crosstown LRT schedule
One of the documents the government fought for almost two years to keep secret is a grainy cellphone photograph of an outdated schedule for the completion of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
Parts of the schedule are illegible in the image, which Verster emailed to Sackville in the spring of 2023.
The schedule, titled 'T- Schedule,' looks to be a draft from June 15, 2023. At the bottom of the schedule, one line is titled 'final occupancy,' which appears to indicate completion of the project. The date listed is Sept. 12, 2023.
A spokesperson for Metrolinx said the final occupancy would be a key milestone but does not necessarily indicate a full opening of the line.
'Construction partners set target schedules for their work, however the outcomes of testing and commissioning ultimately decide an opening date,' they said in a statement.
Story continues below advertisement
The government has recently said it is hoping the Eglinton Crosstown LRT will be open in September 2025. Two years after the date listed in the draft document.
View image in full screen
A draft schedule for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT from June 2023. 1
In order to block the release of the schedule, Ontario argued that making the image public could harm the economy. The adjudicator who ordered its release disagreed.
'I note that the proposed schedule at page 70 of record 1 is from 2023 and it has been well known for many years that the ECLRT opening is behind schedule,' the adjudicator's decision said.
'I have no evidence that the publicly available information about the delayed opening of the ECLRT has hindered Cabinet Office or Metrolinx in their ability to enter contracts for other transit projects.'
James Turk, the director of the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University, said the long fight to withhold the documents was indicative of the government's approach to sharing information.
Story continues below advertisement
'It's fairly consistently a government that is opposed to any reasonable standard of transparency,' he said. 'It often will claim differently, but when you look at its actions — there are untold media requests for information that are obstructed or denied or obfuscated.'
Ontario Line sidewalk complications
The second document released to Global News through the appeal appears to be a similarly mundane email from Verster to Sackville.
The communication is dated April 21, 2023, with the subject line, 'Unforeseen structural stuff at Hudson Bay store.' It was sent by Verster to a number of high-ranking officials, including Sackville, the chief of staff at transportation and Ontario's top civil servant.
'Just to give you a real and practical sense of why these transit projects has (sic) so much unpredictability,' Verster wrote.
He attached a series of photographs showing that tunnelling operations for the Ontario Line around Bay and Queen streets in Toronto had encountered issues. Specifically, he raised concerns about a false floor holding up the sidewalk outside the Hudson Bay Store.
Story continues below advertisement
'We have paused work to ensure the pavement (see pdf) stays in place and will now find a new way to support the pavement and continue excavation,' he added.
An image sent by Phil Verster to explain construction snags with the Ontario Line. 1
Releasing that email — the government and Metrolinx had argued — could also come with economic repercussions. The adjudicator rejected the claim.
'Neither Cabinet Office nor Metrolinx have provided sufficient evidence to show how the actual information in the email in record 2 or the specific details in the attached photographs… could reasonably be expected be injurious to the financial interests of the Government of Ontario or the ability of the Government of Ontario to manage the economy of Ontario,' the adjudicator wrote.
Conacher, who reviewed the documents, said they should have been released two years ago, without the need for an appeal.
Story continues below advertisement
'I don't see a reason why they would have been redacted because they're just showing information about a delayed construction project and some reasons for the delay,' he said, 'which is information the public has a right to know.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Construction frustration in east Ottawa
Ottawa Watch Residents and a city councillor are raising concerns over prolonged construction disruptions related to Stage 2 of the LRT. CTV's Dylan Dyson reports.
Global News
3 hours ago
- Global News
Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigns after Coldplay ‘kiss cam' video
The chief executive of tech firm Astronomer has resigned after a video that appeared to show two of its senior staffers in an embrace at a Coldplay concert went viral. The company posted a statement on its social media channels on Saturday, saying Andy Byron had tendered his resignation, three days after a video went viral online, allegedly showing Byron and another Astronomer senior manager with their arms around each other during the band's concert in Boston. In the social media storm that followed, the pair were alleged to be having an affair. Astronomer previously said Byron had been placed on leave, but the company has yet to confirm it was him in the video. However, on Saturday afternoon, the company said Byron's resignation had been accepted by its board of directors and it would begin a search for its next chief executive. Story continues below advertisement As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met. Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and… — Astronomer (@astronomerio) July 19, 2025 'Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI,' the company's statement reads. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not. We're continuing to do what we do best: helping our customers with their toughest data and AI problems.' In the viral clip, the pair are shown on a 'kiss cam' video screen with their arms around each other. Once they realize their intimate moment has been projected onto the big screen, the man quickly ducked out of view and the woman turned to hide her face. Story continues below advertisement Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin is heard on the clip narrating the awkward moment, saying, 'Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy.' In a statement a day earlier, on Friday, the company remarked on the viral moment, saying it had launched a 'formal investigation' into the matter. It also dismissed a statement claiming to be from Byron that was widely circulating on social media as fake, saying he had not yet commented on the matter.
Global News
10 hours ago
- Global News
Here's why the Bank of Canada could be done cutting interest rates for now
The Bank of Canada has largely kept to the sidelines as it tries to get a sense of how U.S. tariffs will impact the economy — and some economists think it might just stay there. After a quarter-point cut in March, the central bank held its benchmark interest rate steady at 2.75 per cent in April and June. With last month's jobs figures showing a surprise gain and core inflation levels holding steady at around three per cent, economists now broadly expect the central bank will continue its holding pattern at its next decision on July 30. The central bank lowers its policy rate when it wants to encourage spending and boost the economy but keeps borrowing costs elevated when there are concerns inflation could pick up steam. Most economists expect the Bank of Canada will deliver at least one or two more quarter-point cuts in the months ahead. Story continues below advertisement Lower rates would help shore up the economy in the trade war, the argument goes. RBC is among a small group making the case for no more interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada for the time being. Frances Donald, RBC's chief economist, said the central bank could opt to cut again amid 'pockets' of weakness in the economy — a soft housing market and a sharp slowdown in tariff-struck sectors like manufacturing, to name a few. 'On the flip side,' she said in an interview, 'it's worth considering, would Bank of Canada rate cuts actually help what's hurting the Canadian economy?' The policy rate is a broad tool that affects every Canadian — and every market — regardless of their need for support, Donald noted. That means that tariff-sensitive Windsor, Ont., where the unemployment rate now tops 11 per cent, would see the same stimulus from a rate cut as Victoria, B.C., where the jobless rate currently sits at just 3.9 per cent. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Rate cuts would probably be inappropriate in an economy like that,' Donald said. Instead, RBC argues that markets like Windsor need the precision of fiscal policy support from the government. The Bank of Canada has already delivered 2.25 percentage points of interest rate cuts over the past year, and that support is only now starting to filter into the economy, Donald said. Story continues below advertisement The central bank can now hand the baton to the federal government without having to provide much more support for the economy, she said, unless signs of a broader downturn start to materialize. Donald said RBC has a more optimistic view of the economy than some other forecasters, expecting growth to pick up through the rest of the year thanks to resilient consumer spending and an expected rebound in business confidence. But Oxford Economics, which expects Canada is already in a recession that will persist through the rest of the year, also expects no further interest rate cuts from the central bank. The firm said in an updated outlook this week that while it expects job losses to pick up steam in the months ahead, it also sees inflation rising to three per cent by mid-2026 thanks to tariffs and related supply-chain strain. The Bank of Canada will want to lean against any potential rise in prices and will keep its policy rate on hold even as the trade war stymies growth, Oxford Economics argued. Donald said that after inflation surged over the pandemic, consumers are likely feeling 'scarred' as new price pressures bubble up around them. 'Canadians have been through a very serious affordability crisis and this is a Bank of Canada that's likely going to lean on the side of wanting to prevent a second round,' she said. Story continues below advertisement BMO, meanwhile, has three more interest rate cuts in its forecast currently, with the final coming in March of next year. 2:00 Business Matters: Young adults and low-income households more likely to report financial stress But BMO chief economist Doug Porter acknowledged the arguments are growing for fewer, if any, cuts. 'If you look at what the financial markets are expecting, and they're often a very good judge, at this point they're really only looking for one more cut,' he said in an interview after Tuesday's inflation release. Porter said the federal government is expected to rapidly ramp up spending, particularly on defence and infrastructure, in the coming months, taking some of the pressure off the Bank of Canada to cut rates. Stephen Brown, deputy chief North America economist at Capital Economics, believes it's not reasonable to expect the central bank is done cutting with the unemployment rate holding near seven per cent and the economy's output well below potential. Story continues below advertisement 'I think it's quite unlikely that we're in a position where the economy doesn't need any cuts at all,' he said. At 2.75 per cent, the Bank of Canada's benchmark interest rate is at the middle of its so-called 'neutral range,' where monetary policy is neither boosting nor stifling economic growth. Brown said he expects the policy rate will likely drop to 2.25 per cent before the central bank's easing cycle is done, giving the economy some tailwinds through the trade uncertainty. Donald believes the Bank of Canada is well positioned at the middle of its neutral range — able to pivot lower with a couple of interest rate cuts as needed or keep rates elevated if inflation proves stubborn in the months ahead. She said she doesn't expect interest rate hikes will be in the cards anytime soon, but argues the Bank of Canada maintains overall flexibility by keeping its policy rate on hold until the data tells it which way to move. 'They could choose to stay at this level for the next one to two years waiting for the next shock, which could go in one direction or the next.'
