Consultation on the Future of Competition Policy in Canada

The document advocates for reforming the Competition Act to address greenwashing, which it describes as a market distortion that prevents consumers from making informed choices and hinders firms investing in environmental quality. The authors propose several amendments, including updating the Act's purpose clause to include environmental and climate considerations, establishing clear substantiation standards for environmental claims, and requiring public disclosure of the data used to support such claims. They also suggest introducing enhanced penalties for environmental harm, expanding private rights of action for consumers, and allocating penalties to the Environmental Damages Fund. The statement highlights that while other jurisdictions like the EU, France, and California have implemented mandatory disclosures or bans on generic claims, Canada lacks dedicated statutes for regulating environmental claims to the general public.

• Greenwashing distorts the Canadian economy by misleading consumers into purchasing damaging products and preventing sustainability leaders from reaping the rewards of their investments.
• Canada currently lacks specific statutes, regulations, or law enforcement guidelines dedicated to regulating environmental claims made to the general public, and the Competition Act has severe limitations in addressing greenwashing.

APA

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (2023). Consultation on the Future of Competition Policy in Canada. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CompetitionActConsultation_CQDE_CAPE_EQT_ISED.pdf#new_tab

Chicago

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Consultation on the Future of Competition Policy in Canada. 2023. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CompetitionActConsultation_CQDE_CAPE_EQT_ISED.pdf#new_tab.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |title=Consultation on the Future of Competition Policy in Canada |date=March 2023 |url=https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CompetitionActConsultation_CQDE_CAPE_EQT_ISED.pdf#new_tab |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{canadianassociationofphysiciansfortheenvironment2023consultation, author = {{Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}}, title = {{Consultation on the Future of Competition Policy in Canada}}, publisher = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CompetitionActConsultation_CQDE_CAPE_EQT_ISED.pdf#new_tab}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }