The Department of Environment quietly spent $40,000 to test public support for an NDP proposal that would have slapped million-dollar fines and jail terms on oil companies for their advertising, records show.Internal research revealed the department hired the Angus Reid Group to insert questions about Bill C-372 into a national survey of 1,500 Canadians. Blacklock's Reporter said the private member’s bill, introduced in 2024 by then-NDP MP Charlie Angus, never advanced past First Reading before dying on the order paper.The bill sought to ban fossil fuel advertising it claimed was “false, misleading or deceptive,” with penalties of up to two years in jail or $1 million in fines. Its preamble alleged that oil companies “knowingly mislead the public” and “delay the transition to safer, cleaner energy sources.”Despite that language, most Canadians had never heard of it. .According to the department’s poll, 64% of respondents said they had no knowledge of Bill C-372. Once explained, only 10% strongly supported it, while opposition was highest in Saskatchewan (57%), Alberta (51%) and Manitoba (45%).The poll also asked about industry performance, with 39% of Canadians rating oil and gas as “somewhat” or “highly” effective in cutting emissions over the past decade, while 46% said the sector was not effective.Angus defended his bill by accusing “big oil” of spreading “disinformation” and even claimed during a 2023 Commons hearing that the CEO of Suncor Energy bore liability for wildfires that forced 200,000 Canadians from their homes.Angus did not run again after his northern Ontario riding was redistricted in the 2025 election, and no MP has reintroduced the failed bill.
