The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday, July 15, edition that critics of Bill C-59 argue that the wording of the legislation is both ambiguous and heavy-handed. The Globe's Kelly Cryderman writes that the bill amended the Competition Act so that companies must be able to prove their environmental claims about specific products. Weeks before the bill was passed, an antigreen washing provision regarding statements about protecting or restoring the environment or mitigating climate change was also added. In response, some web pages were taken down by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Most notably, the Pathways Alliance scrubbed their website. The Globe says expecting any entity to risk millions of dollars in penalties and thousands in legal defense fees, all based on the potential for claims that they had erred against undefined international standards, is a stretch. While companies are being told they have nothing to fear if they are upfront about their work, the Competition Bureau is expediting its process for consulting on and providing detailed guidelines around this new law. It is a move that suggests corporate types are not alone in their concern that the wording is open to many interpretations.
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