An op-ed, short for “opposite the editorial page”, is a written prose piece, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication’s editorial board.
Deidra Garyk. Submitted
Editor’s note: Energy advocate Deidra Garyk made the following submission to the Competition Bureau regarding Bill C-59, which came into law in late June. That law is an egregious assault on free speech in this nation, and Pipeline Online vehemently opposes it, as should you.
Public consultation on Competition Act’s new greenwashing provisions
Feedback submitted by Deidra Garyk, Energy Advocate
August 29, 2024
Deceptive marketing practices Directorate Competition Bureau 50 Victoria Street Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0C9
greenwashingconsultationecoblanchiment@cb-bc.gc.ca
I am providing feedback on the “greenwashing” amendments to the Competition Act resulting from the passing of Bill C-59 in June 2024. As an energy advocate, I am an interested and affected Canadian.
The seemingly innocuous changes to the Competition Act must be repealed entirely for three reasons:
- The Competition Act already includes mechanisms to address deceptive marketing practices
- They are bad for Canadian democracy, truth, and free speech and expression because they allow for misuse by activists and special interest groups
- The incongruency of the Competition Act’s requirements with impending mandatory sustainability reporting requirements
The desire to address deceptive marketing is noble. Scamming innocent buyers, be it with false environmental claims or otherwise, is a scourge and costs consumers their hard-earned money. The intent of the amendments may have been to address this issue; unfortunately, unintended outcomes may result in practice and that is why the changes must be repealed.
- The Competition Act already includes mechanisms to address deceptive marketing practices
The Competition Bureau has not provided sufficient evidence of an existing risk to consumers that warrants such excessively punitive new rules. It has always been illegal to make a marketing misrepresentation in Canada; therefore, safeguards are already in place to protect consumers.
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Environmental groups have successfully used the current provisions in the Competition Act to target companies for alleged “greenwashing.” This provides evidence that the existing, well-established regulations are sufficient to meet the needs of Canadian consumers by balancing the need to address “greenwashing” while allowing companies to make environmental marketing statements.
- The amendments are bad for Canadian democracy, truth, and free speech and expression because they allow for misuse by activists and special interest groups
The changes to the Act include covert censorship cloaked in the guise of public safety that creates a sort of invisible gag, attempting to create a panic that results in self-censorship, or “greenhushing”.
Whether the censorship aspect of the amendments is real or perceived, the new provisions’ vagueness and the insufficient “guidance” issued by the Bureau is leading companies and energy advocates to err on the side of caution rather than risk frivolous, nuisance complaints that will lead to costly defences. With the onus on the defendant to prove their statement is not “greenwashing”, there is basically no cost to the complainant and no liability for making false, vexatious complaints.
Starting in June 2025, individuals – disgruntled employees, eco-activists, bored people – can go onto the Competition Bureau’s website and fill in the complaint form for the Bureau to decide whether or not to investigate. The criterion of “in the public interest” is not defined and is open for interpretation and misuse by special interest groups. As an energy advocate, this causes me concern.
While focus has been on the muzzling of oil and gas companies and supporters, the changes are industry agnostic and, therefore, allow for all businesses to be targeted. Although, oil and gas companies and their supporters are likely to be disproportionately aimed at and penalized since anyone can go onto the Bureau’s website and easily complete a complaint form. One does not have to be a victim to file a complaint; a company or person can literally be accused of a victimless crime.
It is not obvious if making an aspirational, subjective, or unintentionally exaggerated environmental claim on social media can result in a company or individual being forced to go in front of the Competition Tribunal to defend itself.
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With the rise of environmental lawfare globally, we must ask ourselves: are we comfortable with lawfare activism by special interest groups to control the narrative by covertly and overtly silencing or influencing public discussion and disclosure? Are we confident that this law will not be used to unfairly harass and oppress the hydrocarbon industry or other “unsavoury” industries at the whim of nefarious “environmentalists” and a witting bureaucracy?
- The incongruency of the Competition Act’s requirements with impending mandatory sustainability reporting requirements
Companies will soon have to report certain environmental information to comply with the impending sustainability disclosure standards (CSDS) once they are adopted by the Canadian Securities Administrator. Publicly listed companies will be mandated to issue sustainability and climate-related disclosures while simultaneously being hamstrung by the Competition Act.
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For energy companies, there is, and will continue to be, a focus on emissions. At a minimum, there must be protections in place to limit complaints using past GHG emissions disclosures and future aspirational GHG targets that must be set to comply with the CSDS.
The proposed changes to the Act require that environmental and climate-related claims be based on “internationally recognized methodologies,” which is not defined. Nor has the Bureau defined what constitutes an “adequate and proper test” of a product’s environmental benefits. Because this will be the cornerstone of complaints, particularly those related to emissions, these terms must be adequately defined and accompanied by robust guidance.
Some amount of public disclosure is reasonable, but companies and individuals need protections in place to stop frivolous, vexatious lawsuits, regulatory complaints, and shareholder activism. Right now, that is missing from the CSDS and is exacerbated by the changes to the Competition Act.
The biggest climate-related risk to companies is not physical or environmental; it is governmental, with the imposition of ever more rules, regulations, and risks on businesses under the guise of protecting them. The Competition Bureau must be very cautious about contributing to regulatory overreach by implementing destabilizing rules that will take away certainty from businesses; as a result, the proposed changes to the Competition Act must be repealed entirely.
Sincerely,
Deidra Garyk
Energy Advocate
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