The Ontario government is spending about $310,000 on new news conference space, which opposition parties say doubles an existing room in the legislature and will mean less access for the media.
The Progressive Conservative government this week used its new “communications centre” for the Finance Minister’s budget press conference and a technical briefing for journalists.
But it now intends to use the room, in the basement of a legislative precinct building connected to the main legislature by a tunnel, for all on-site government news conferences, senior government officials told The Canadian Press.
This despite the fact that there is already a room for that purpose.
The media studio inside the main legislative building has for decades hosted press conferences by government ministers, opposition members and advocacy groups.
But that space is a neutral one operated by the president of the legislature on behalf of the press gallery, and journalists are not limited in the number of questions they can ask a minister.
The same is not true in the new government communications center. Journalists will be able to ask a question and follow up, sources said, similar to the format of external press conferences with the prime minister or government ministers.
The government needed a press conference space that already had the necessary technology and was available on short notice, a source said in explaining the rationale for the new venue. The existing media studio does not operate on weekends and is sometimes already booked by another group, the source said.
The government rarely holds press conferences on weekends.
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said the new space appears to be a way for the government to avoid accountability.
“We know you have always had a complete lack of respect for journalists and the important role they play in Ontario,” he wrote in a statement, referring to Premier Doug Ford.
“Their new $310,000 media study is a complete waste of our hard-earned tax dollars.”
The cost of the new space includes about $240,000 for construction, $37,000 for technology such as audio-visual requirements, $25,000 for a black panel backdrop and $8,000 in miscellaneous costs, government sources said.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles said this is an irresponsible use of public money and will limit media (and therefore public) access.
“It is extremely disturbing to learn that conservatives think it is okay to spend more than $300,000 on their own private press conferences,” he wrote in a statement.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said it’s important to use a space operated independently of the government for news conferences.
“This certainly looks like an attempt to limit journalistic freedom and public accountability, which is totally undemocratic,” he wrote in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.