2023-10-01 14:31:44
(Calgary) Environmental groups are increasingly turning to the Competition Act to oppose the fossil fuel industry.
Published at 10:31 a.m. Updated at 1:03 p.m.
Amanda Stephenson The Canadian Press
Over the past year, Canadian environmental groups have filed no fewer than four formal complaints with the Competition Bureau, the independent federal law enforcement agency that protects competition.
According to the plaintiffs, the companies or – in one case – those who finance them have used false or misleading . As of yet, none of the allegations of wrongdoing have yet been proven.
Environmentalists hope their new strategy will draw public attention to what they consider “greenwashing.”
“We are at a point where climate skeptics are increasingly rare,” says Keith Brooks, director of programs at Environmental Defense. The majority of companies agree that this is an issue and that it is necessary to achieve carbon neutrality. But the problem is, they’re just words. No real action is taken. It’s just a tactic [des producteurs pétroliers] to delay their action. »
For example, a complaint was filed against Alliance Nouvelles Voies, a group of six large companies in the fossil energy sector, including Imperial and Suncor. Environmental groups opposed a massive campaign about the industry’s carbon neutrality goals.
Canada’s Competition Bureau is currently conducting an investigation to determine whether the New Ways Alliance engaged in deceptive marketing practices.
Greenpeace, which is at the origin of the complaint, argues in particular that in its plan towards carbon neutrality, the industry does not take into account the GHGs emitted during the use of oil, which is mainly exported and burned elsewhere in the world. world.
The New Pathways Alliance admits it was surprised by the complaint filed against its campaign, the aim of which it said was to inform Canadians that it understood their concerns about climate change and that it wanted to be part of the solutions .
“Being the subject of a complaint to the Competition Bureau surprised us at first because we feel like we listened to what people had to say and reacted as we were told. asked for it,” says Kendall Dilling, president of New Ways Alliance.
Complaints were also filed against the Canadian Gas Association, Enbridge and the Royal Bank.
Precedents
There are precedents where the Competition Bureau has intervened in environmental cases.
In January 2022, Keurig Canada agreed to pay a $3 million fine after an investigation by the federal agency determined that its single-use K-Cup pods were not actually recyclable.
A few years ago, the Bureau reached a settlement with Volkswagen that forced the automaker to pay $17.5 million for false or misleading trade representations in promoting their vehicles with 2.0-liter diesel engines.
Leah Temper, director of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment’s fossil fuel ban campaign, believes Canada is lagging behind on this issue.
The European Union, for example, passed a law aimed at eliminating greenwashing by banning terms like “carbon neutrality” in advertisements.
“If we look at what other jurisdictions are doing, we see that they are more proactive in this area,” says Ms. Temper.
She said the current review of federal competition policies means now is a good time to raise concerns.
“Canada’s Competition Bureau does not even have an environmental section, unlike many of our trading partners,” argues Ms. Temper.
The Competition Bureau says one of its priorities is to crack down on misleading , including unproven claims by certain companies in all fields. He says he has seen an increase in misleading or unverified environmental by companies.
Joanne McNeish, associate professor of marketing at Metropolitan Toronto University, says the fossil fuel industry has felt the pressure to communicate, not only to consumers, but also to investors and governments.
“Companies have the impression that if they don’t react, they are leaving everything to environmentalists,” she says.
And these activists, she adds, are increasingly using legal means, such as the Competition Act, to make their point.
“In the past, environmental activism used really radical means, like occupying a boat or blocking an oil tanker. It is in transition towards more bureaucratic, more administrative, more legal activities. It’s a more sophisticated activism. »
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