The Competition Bureau will not investigate allegations the federal government violated its own anti-greenwashing law through advertisements claiming its policies would lower emissions.The federal agency rejected a formal complaint filed by NDP MP Don Davies, who accused Ottawa of applying an “absurd double standard” by imposing advertising rules on private businesses that apparently do not apply to the government.“The Bureau has decided not to undertake an investigation,” the agency said in a statement.The complaint would “not likely fall under the Bureau’s mandate,” it added without providing further explanation.Davies, MP for Vancouver Kingsway, filed the complaint Aug. 17 under the Competition Act.Parliament amended the Act in 2024 to prohibit environmental claims about a product that are not supported by “an adequate and proper test,” with the burden of proof falling on the person making the representation.“Private companies must follow Canada’s laws against deceptive environmental claims but the federal government does not,” Davies said in a statement. “That is an absurd double standard.”“Canada’s greenwashing rules exist to ensure there is accurate information about environmental claims,” he said.“New Democrats will continue to press for accountability. No government should be above the law it expects every other Canadian organization to follow.”The complaint centred on federal television advertisements promoting the Carney government’s energy policies.“As the world races to clean energy, Canada’s government will use our natural advantage to build world-class energy projects that bring down costs, create thousands of new jobs and lower emissions,” said the advertisement.“We’ll build a cleaner future in the way that only Canada can.”Davies challenged the “lower emissions” claim, pointing to comments made by Prime Minister Mark Carney on June 30 acknowledging emissions would be higher in the coming years than previously projected.“The changes we have made will mean our emissions will be higher in the next few years than they were projected to be under the previous government’s plan,” Carney said..Then-Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell told the Senate national finance committee in 2024 that the Bureau regularly received complaints involving broader environmental claims made by businesses.“A significant portion of the greenwashing complaints the Competition Bureau receives do not involve claims about products but rather more general or forward looking environmental claims about a business or brand as a whole, e.g. claims about being ‘net zero’ or ‘carbon neutral by 2030,’” Boswell wrote.Boswell said such claims could fall under provisions prohibiting deceptive marketing.“These more general claims to promote a business interest can also be false or misleading and may be captured by our general deceptive market provisions,” he wrote.However, Boswell acknowledged proving violations involving broader environmental promises could be difficult.“However these claims are not reverse onus and it can be challenging for the Bureau to prove they are false or misleading in a material respect.”
