Doctors call on Ottawa to intervene in gas greenwashing investigation
Competition Bureau closed its probe after the Canadian Gas Association removed environmental claims. Medical groups want Minister Joly to act.
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A group of medical practitioners is calling on the federal Minister of Industry to intervene after Canada's Competition Bureau halted an investigation into the Canadian Gas Association for allegedly making false and misleading statements about natural gas.
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment sent a letter Thursday to Minister Mélanie Joly requesting intervention. The bureau confirmed it closed the investigation into the CGA after the association "removed the alleged false or misleading environmental claims referring to natural gas as a clean energy source."
The investigation stemmed from a 2022 complaint by doctors and nurses, including B.C. family physicians Dr. Melissa Lem and Dr. Ulrike Meyer, who alleged the CGA had run a "false and misleading" advertising campaign touting gas as an "eco-friendly" fuel. The two-and-a-half year "Fuelling Canada" campaign ran across social media and in The Globe and Mail, describing gas as "affordable" and "clean" energy.
The initial complaint included research showing that combusting natural gas indoors as a cooking fuel increases the chance children will develop asthma by 42 per cent. A 2024 study found natural gas in Vancouver contained some of the highest concentrations of the carcinogen benzene in North America.
In their letter to Joly, CAPE members claimed the bureau failed to adequately explain the decision and pointed to a "concerning systemic pattern" where the bureau has dropped deceptive marketing inquiries connected to harms to human health and the environment. Under the Competition Act, corporations found liable for deceptive marketing can face penalties of up to $10 million on first occurrence and $15 million for repeated violations.
