The Supreme Court of Canada agreed with the Ontario government to exempt authorization letters sent by Premier Doug Ford to the Cabinet from freedom of information laws.

The Supreme Court of Canada issued its ruling this morning, Friday, after hearing the case before a seven-person panel in April, and the court concluded that the authorization letters "reflect the Premier's view on the importance of certain political priorities and represent the beginning of a smooth process of policy formulation within the Cabinet.

They concluded that the letters reveal the essence of Cabinet deliberations.

The ruling comes after a six-year battle between CBC and the Progressive Conservative government.

In 2018, after Ford was first elected Premier, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) requested the 23 letters under the Freedom of Information Act, but they were denied, with the government citing Cabinet exemptions, stating that public disclosure of the letters would reveal the essence of deliberations between the Premier and his government.

The media appealed to Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner, who ordered the release of the letters.

In subsequent appeals, two other provincial courts rejected the government's case, with the judge stating that the letters "do not threaten to disclose the Cabinet's deliberation or policy formulation process."