The Carney government is facing a formal Competition Bureau complaint alleging a taxpayer-funded energy advertisement misled Canadians about greenhouse gas emissions and violated federal rules against “greenwashing.”Blacklock's Reporter says New Democrat MP Don Davies (Vancouver Kingsway) filed the complaint under Competition Act provisions passed by Parliament in 2024.“The Carney government is spending millions of tax dollars to mislead them,” Davies said in a statement. “The Prime Minister has admitted that emissions will rise under his energy plan, yet his government is running ads claiming it will lower them. That’s deceptive marketing and it’s against the law.”The complaint centres on a federal television advertisement promoting the government's energy agenda.“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,” says the ad. “We’ll build a cleaner future in the way that only Canada can.”Davies called the claim misleading.“This is clear misrepresentation to the public,” he said.Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged June 30 that emissions would be higher in coming years than previously projected following his government's repeal of several climate policies.“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,” said Carney.Parliament in 2024 passed Bill C-59, An Act To Implement Certain Provisions Of The Fall Economic Statement, which amended the Competition Act to address environmental claims in advertising.The legislation prohibits representations concerning a product's environmental benefits or its ability to mitigate the effects of climate change when those claims are not supported by an adequate and proper test, with the burden of proof resting on the party making the representation.The Competition Bureau subsequently warned businesses that environmental claims must be properly supported.“When in doubt, spell it out,” the Bureau said in its 2025 advisory Environmental Claims And The Competition Act.“Businesses should be clear and specific when making environmental claims,” said the advisory. “This includes being transparent about whether the claim applies to a part or the whole of a product, business or activity.”The Bureau said greenwashing can occur when environmental marketing makes a company or product appear more environmentally friendly than it actually is.“While many claims are truthful, others make a business or its product seem greener than they really are,” wrote the Bureau. “Many people refer to this part of the larger problem of greenwashing.”.The regulator said the law does not prohibit companies from making environmental claims provided they are neither false nor misleading.“The Bureau does not tell businesses what they can or cannot say,” said the advisory. “It only offers principles to help businesses assess whether their environmental claims are in line with the requirements of the Act.”Federal regulators pursued misleading environmental advertising claims even before Bill C-59 was adopted.Ontario Power Generation withdrew newspaper advertisements in 2003 that claimed its emissions had fallen 60% over 16 years. Environmental groups said the actual decline was closer to 9%.The Competition Bureau also reached a 2022 consent agreement with Keurig Canada over claims that its polypropylene coffee pods could be recycled in most provinces.Keurig agreed to pay $3.9 million in penalties and costs after the Bureau concluded the recycling claims were false or misleading in areas where the pods were not widely accepted for recycling.
