The Ontario government's appeal to keep Premier Doug Ford's mandate letters to his cabinet ministers secret was dismissed by the province's top court on Friday. This is the first case in Canada to consider whether a government's mandate letters meet the criteria for exemption as cabinet records. If it seeks leave and the country's top court refuses to hear the case, the province will have to release the mandate letters. The Ontario government could continue its fight to keep Premier Doug Ford's mandate letters secret by seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Ford issued a new set of mandate letters to his cabinet ministers in the fall of last year.

Source: CBC News January 29, 2022 09:07 UTC