A Canadian oil industry association has removed all transition-related content from its website in anticipation of punitive moves by the federal government, which earlier this month passed a law requiring companies to show proof of their transition statements.
"Imminent amendments to the Competition Act will create significant uncertainty for Canadian companies that want to communicate publicly about the work they are doing to improve their environmental performance, including to address climate change," the Pathways Alliance said on its website, where all other content was unavailable earlier today.
"With uncertainty on how the new law will be interpreted and applied, any clarity the Competition Bureau can provide through specific guidance may help direct our communications approach in the future," the association also said, noting that the content removal was a direct result of the new legislation and did not reflect any changes in the group's "belief in the truth and accuracy of our environmental communications."
The legislation in question, Bill C-59 passed its third reading in Canada's Senate on Wednesday and is one step away from becoming a law, for which it needs royal assent.
The bill, as the Calgary Herald notes, does not specifically target the oil and gas industry, but all industries that advertise their transition activity. In essence, it mandates proof that this activity is indeed taking place, or as stipulated in the text, "adequate and proper substantiation in accordance with internationally recognized methodology."
However, that "internationally recognized methodology" has not been defined, the Pathways Alliance said this week. In fact, the group that represents the six biggest oil sands companies in the country, the legislation was "so vague as to lack meaning" which "opens the door for frivolous litigation, particularly by private entities who will now be empowered to directly enforce this new provision of the Competition Act."
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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Irina is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing on the oil and gas industry. More
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