A New Democrat MP has introduced a private member’s bill that would ban “misleading or deceptive” advertisements for fossil fuels to help stop climate change, similar to how tobacco advertisements were banned in Canada. It also asks for fines and imprisonment for “misleading” advertisement.
“The oil and gas lobby continues to pump enormous sums into advertising campaigns to falsely claim the benefits of allowing even more burning of fossil fuels,” NDP MP Charlie Angus said during a press conference in Parliament on Feb. 6.
“That’s like [cigarette brand] Benson & Hedges telling you that they can help end lung cancer. This is because big oil has always relied on the big tobacco playbook of delay and disinformation.”
The NDP MP accused the fossil fuel industry of having spent billions of dollars over the course of 60 years to suppress the evidence of climate change, and then recently “shifting their propaganda with false claims of producing cleaner products, claiming they can be part of the climate solution.”
The ban would apply to suggestions that certain fossil fuels are less harmful than others; assertions that fossil fuels or their production would lead to positive outcomes relating to Canada’s economy, the environment, Canadians’ health, or reconciliation with indigenous peoples; and to terms, expressions, logos and symbols covered under the regulations.
“This legislation will make it illegal for Canada’s oil and gas giants to falsely identify themselves with the health and positive lifestyles of Canadians or with reconciliation of indigenous people, on whose lands the toxic contamination is highest,” Mr. Angus said.
Similarities to Bill Banning Tobacco Ads
According to Mr. Angus, the bill took inspiration from the 1997 federal legislation that banned tobacco advertising due to threats to human health. Bill C-67, The Tobacco Act, which replaced the Tobacco Sales to Young Persons Act and the Tobacco Products Control Act, implemented new standards for tobacco products, regulated its access, and banned all advertising for tobacco products.“To tackle this immense threat to human health, we need to use many of the strategies that finally took down big tobacco,” Mr. Angus said.
