It hasn’t even been signed into law yet, but an anti-greenwashing provision in a federal omnibus bill making its way through the House of Commons is already having an impact on how the fossil fuel industry and its boosters conduct themselves. Through an amendment to the Competition Act contained in Bill C-59, which implements aspects of the government’s fall economic statement, the Canadian government will force companies to provide evidence for any claim they make about their product protecting the environment or mitigating climate change — an entirely reasonable request. Get daily news from Canada's National Observer Email * It’s absolutely damning that the Pathways Alliance, a coalition of the six largest oil and gas companies in Canada formed to extract subsidies from federal and provincial governments for unproven carbon capture technology, responded to this impending regulation by wiping its entire internet presence .
As of June 19, visitors to the alliance’s website are greeted with three paragraphs in English and French warning that Bill C-59 “will create significant uncertainty for Canadian companies that want to communicate publicly about the work they are doing to improve their environmental performance, including to address climate change.” The alliance promises that this temporary measure “is a direct consequence of the new legislation and is not related to our belief in the truth and accuracy of our environmental communications.” But that doesn.
