The consultation is a response to a ‘large number of requests for guidance’
The bureau asked for commentary regarding which environmental claims may be hard to test and foreseeable challenges for companies, it said in another note. Stakeholders have until late September to comment.
The agency is seeking recommendations from companies and stakeholders in this round of feedback. “Through our consultation on these new provisions, we will provide guidance that will offer transparency and predictability for Canadians,” Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell said in a statement.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers was among the groups that took down material from its website after the bill’s passage. The amendment also drew ire from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith — who said in a statement the legislation appears to be “part of an agenda to create chaos and uncertainty for energy investors.”
Pathways Alliance said in a statement last month that the bill “will create significant uncertainty for Canadian companies that want to communicate publicly about the work they are doing to improve their environmental performance, including to address climate change.”
For years, the bureau has probed companies over allegations of false environmental assertions. Beverage company Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. agreed to pay a $3 million penalty in 2022 for misleading claims around its single-use coffee pods, which in most provinces aren’t recyclable. Volkswagen AG, Audi AG and Porsche AG faced up to $290.5 million in payments from a proposed class-action settlement in 2018 for deceptive marketing tactics around car emissions.