Oil sands alliance grossly overreacted to anti-greenwashing measures in Bill C-59, Wilkinson says

An oil sands industry group that scrubbed its website of all content in response to a new federal rule requiring truth in advertising was grossly overreacting, Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says.

Several Canadian oil companies and lobby groups added disclaimers to their websites and social-media feeds last month in the face of the contentious new federal legislation, which aims to stamp out false or exaggerated environmental claims via a provision in Bill C-59 that makes changes to the Competition Act.

The Pathways Alliance, a coalition of oil sands producers proposing a multibillion-dollar carbon capture and storage project to help bring production to net zero by 2050, replaced its website and social-media content with a disclaimer that it said was in response to the anti-greenwashing measure.

“I think it was a gross overreaction – and I think it was probably a political message,” Mr. Wilkinson told The Globe and Mail this week.

And he doubts that scrubbing its website will serve the group’s long-term interests.

While it’s fair to want clarification on the methodology the Competition Bureau will use to assess environmental statements, removing all content from the website “leaves the message for a lot of folks that actually none of it was true,” Mr. Wilkinson said.

He said he believes the vast majority of Canadians want companies to tell the truth.

“And at the end of the day, what is being asked of the oil and gas sector is no different than what’s being asked of the pharmaceutical sector, which is you just have to have a basis for the claims that you make,” he said.

The Alberta government has loudly protested the new rule, labelling it “draconian” and “authoritarian” in a joint statement by Premier Danielle Smith, Energy Minister Brian Jean and Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz.

They said it would irreparably harm Canadians’ ability “to hear the truth about the energy industry and Alberta’s successes in reducing global emissions,” adding that it would also stifle billions of dollars in investment in emissions-reducing technologies.

“This is being done to intentionally intimidate boards and shareholders, silence debate, and amplify the voices of those who oppose Canada’s world leading energy industry. Indeed, it would appear to be part of an agenda to create chaos and uncertainty for energy investors for the purpose of phasing out the energy industry altogether,” they said.

Disquiet about the legislation will likely be part of discussions around the table of the Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference this week in Calgary.

The annual gathering of federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for energy and mining portfolios sees them discuss shared priorities and collaborative action to advance development across the country.

Speaking with The Globe ahead of the conference, Mr. Wilkinson said the meeting will include discussions around cybersecurity and the importance of protecting energy infrastructure. Canadian oil and gas giant Suncor Energy Inc. SU-T was hit by a massive cyberattack last year that affected some internal systems and many of the company’s Petro-Canada retail locations.

Also on the agenda is the development of critical minerals and how to secure supplies and investment nationally, instead of relying on other countries such as China.

“Virtually every province and territory has a significant interest in critical minerals, so we will be having some conversations about how we are moving forward with some of the tools that we have, like the critical minerals Infrastructure fund and the processing fund,” Mr. Wilkinson said.

And while he acknowledged the likelihood of disagreements around the table – particularly with Alberta on a planned greenhouse gas emissions cap on oil production and draft clean electricity regulations – Mr. Wilkinson said the tenor of conversations around energy and mining has recently shifted toward the economic opportunities.

The Alberta government and industry have slammed the planned emissions cap. But Mr. Wilkinson said his government made a commitment to Canadians to implement a cap and intends to follow through, because oil and gas sector emissions continue to grow at an unsustainable pace.

“But we need to be thoughtful about how this is done,” he added. “I continue to say that the numbers that are embedded in the draft that was brought forward are the numbers that industry itself told us were achievable.”