The federal government is facing new criticism after Canada's Independent Press Gallery (IPG) warned that Ottawa is now helping to push climate-speech restrictions onto the world stage through a United Nations declaration launched at COP30 in Belém, Brazil.The declaration — formally called the UN Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change — was co-sponsored and heavily shaped by Canada, according to the IPG. The group said the document lays the framework for global limits on journalism, scientific inquiry, and public debate by letting governments and UN agencies decide which viewpoints are acceptable.The initiative was overseen by Steven Guilbeault, the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, who now controls Ottawa’s online-speech and censorship powers. .The IPG noted Guilbeault’s former group, Équiterre, is active in the UN-aligned Climate Action Against Disinformation coalition and helped advance the declaration itself.Under the declaration, governments, platforms, media outlets, and civil-society groups are urged to adopt “adequate policies” that ensure “accurate and reliable coverage” of climate issues. The IPG said that language masks a push for global “information integrity” enforcement, climate-narrative protection, and even controls on scientific publication — all of which risk becoming tools to silence dissent.The declaration is tied to the larger Global Digital Compact, a UN project that commits countries to promote “science-based” and “timely” information. .Critics warn that such framing can be used to sideline dissenting research while elevating material that aligns with UN-approved messaging.The IPG argued that a healthy public square requires more openness, not less, and said independent outlets are essential to maintaining democratic debate free of government contamination. The group warned that Canada’s leadership role — and Guilbeault’s involvement in an initiative advanced by his former activist organization — marks a significant escalation in federal efforts to police speech at home and abroad.The IPG is calling on Ottawa to withdraw its support for the declaration and publicly reaffirm Canada’s commitment to unrestricted debate on climate science and policy.
