Ford government hold late-night session to push through omnibus budget bill

There was a rare late night session at Queen’s Park Wednesday night as the Conservative government tried to push through an omnibus budget bill.

They will pick up Thursday morning after calling it a night at 10 p.m.

The bill contains controversial changes to freedom of information (FOI) laws, changes to Ontario’s conservation authorities, and caps ticket resale prices.

The retroactive FOI law would shield Ford and cabinet members — along with their offices — from public access to documents, with Ford admitting that part of the rationale is to kill a request from Global News to obtain his cellphone records.

READ MORE: Opposition fears Doug Ford’s omnibus budget bill will be fast-tracked through to law

The current budget bill has been sitting for several weeks at the committee stage with no movement.

The usual legislative process sees bills go to committee, where affected groups and members of the public have a chance to weigh in, and committee members from the government and opposition can propose and debate amendments.

Both the NDP and Liberals criticized the move for using the after-hours session to rush the changes through.

The bill is expected to become law today when the legislature resumes.

With files from The Canadian Press.

READ MORE: Ford government to bypass public hearings on freedom-of-information clampdown