Ontario's Premier Accountability Dashboard · Queen's Park Watch
John Fraser
Ontario Liberal Party
John Fraser is the Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party and MPP for Ottawa South. He has been a vocal critic of the Ford government's FIPPA overhaul, arguing that the retroactive nature of the law change signals the government has something damaging to hide on its own devices.
Connected Scandals
The Ford government buried amendments inside the 2026 Budget Bill that would permanently exempt the Premier, all cabinet ministers, and their staff from freedom-of-information requests — retroactive to 1988 — nullifying every pending FOI request and active court case, including those seeking Doug Ford's personal cellphone records and Greenbelt-related emails. Ontario's own privacy watchdog publicly called three of Ford's stated justifications factually incorrect.
Fraser opposed Bill 97's FIPPA changes throughout the legislative process, calling for full public hearings that were denied. He stated that changing the law retroactively suggests "there must be something really bad on your cell phone." The Liberals promised to undo the changes if elected.
As grocery giants install AI-powered pricing systems that charge different customers different prices for the same food, Doug Ford told Ontarians he won't ban it — calling regulation "socialism" the same week his caucus voted down a consumer protection motion, while lobbyists for Loblaws enjoy direct access to his government.
Fraser introduced a private member's bill to ban personalized algorithmic pricing in Ontario in April 2026. He asked: "You're up late one night and you're Googling the symptoms your child has. Should the price of children's Advil be based on the fact that you search that? I don't think so." The Ford government declined to advance the legislation.
Over 157 inmates were improperly released from Ontario's dangerously overcrowded provincial jails between 2021 and 2025 — six remain at large as of April 2026. Solicitor General Michael Kerzner told the legislature they were all caught "instantaneously." Global News FOI documents proved that was false. Kerzner apologized "unreservedly." At the same Maplehurst facility running at 175% capacity, correctional officers zip-tied 200 inmates in their underwear for two days — and a judge stayed first-degree murder charges as a result.
Fraser called for the resignation of Solicitor General Michael Kerzner after Global News FOI documents contradicted Kerzner's repeated legislative assurances that all improperly released Ontario inmates had been caught immediately. He stated he had "no confidence" in the Solicitor General.