oilsands companies with the stated goal of advancing a CO2 emissions strategy and a proposed carbon capture and storage project, announced in June 2024 (following the introduction of the greenwashing provisions) that it had removed from its communications channels all information on “environmental and climate performance, progress, and plans.” As the reason for its change, the group referenced the Competition Act ’s greenwashing provisions together with the resulting uncertainty and risk of “frivolous litigation” when combined with the (then forthcoming) right of action. In November 2025, the federal government announced further changes to the greenwashing provisions to “provide more certainty to the marketplace,” noting that the provisions that had been implemented to date had the “opposite of the desired effect with some parties slowing or reversing efforts to protect the environment.” The implementing legislation for these latest amendments, which has not yet passed, proposes to change the “business claims” provision to prohibit representations to the public “with respect to the benefits of a business or business activity for protecting or restoring the environment or mitigating the environmental and ecological causes or effects of climate change that is not based on adequate and proper substantiation, the proof of which lies on the person making the representation.” That is, the “business claims” provision will no longer require substantiation on the basis of the uncertain “internationally recognized methodology.” The implementing legislation would also remove the ability for private parties to bring applications before the Competition Tribunal under the “business claims” provision; however, private rights of action will remain available under the greenwashing provision governing product claims and the general prohibition against false and misleading claims. The bottom line is that the provisions of the Competition Act governing environmental claims have seen significant changes in recent years and seem poised to change again in the near term. Nonetheless, under the current regime and following the implementation of the latest proposed changes, businesses making environmental claims in Canada should ensure they have sufficient substantiation for those claims. EXISTING DISCLOSURE RULES UNDER CANADIAN SECURITIES LAWS REMAIN RELEVANT Despite the CSA’s pause on its draft mandatory climate disclosure rule, issuers continue to be subject to Canadian continuous disclosure requirements, which operate in the ordinary course to require issuers to disclose material climate-related information, including climate-related risk factors, that would be expected to have a significant effect on the market price or value of issuers’ securities. In this vein, the CSA has reminded issuers that “[c]limate-related risks are a mainstream business issue and securities legislation already requires issuers to disclose material climate-related risks affecting their business in the same way issuers are required to disclose other types of material information.” Issuers looking for further guidance may refer to the CSA’s resources on climate-related disclosure: CSA Staff Notice 51-333 Environmental Reporting Guidance (2010) provides guidance to issuers on existing
13
Governance Insights 2026
Powered by FlippingBook