��������

CALGARY, ALTA. – The Alberta Enterprise Group (AEG) and the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) have jointly filed , over a new “greenwashing” law that “restricts free speech.”

The challenge, filed in the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, targets sections 236 and 239 of Bill C-59, the Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023, which amended the Competition Act. The bill is supposed to make businesses more accountable for the environmental and social claims they make by requiring them to have testing or substantiation to support certain environmental claims.

“These provisions impose unreasonable restrictions on the dissemination of truthful and fair-minded information, striking at the heart of free expression and open debate in Canada,” states a joint release.

ICBA and AEG say the amendments violate fundamental Charter rights and undermine Canada’s ability to foster economic growth and responsible resource development.

“This case is about protecting the free flow of information and ideas – the cornerstone of a free and democratic society,” said Chris Gardner, ICBA president and CEO. “This is a direct attack on free expression and an egregious overreach by the (Justin) Trudeau government – it’s a slippery slope when we start to rely on a government department to police legitimate debate and dialogue on important public policy matters.”

“These regulations pre-emptively ban even truthful, reasonable, and defensible discussion unless businesses can meet a government-imposed standard of what is the truth,” added Catherine Brownlee, AEG president. “Important information for the public to consider is prohibited by the act if it is not approved by some opaque verification process that the government has not defined.”

The statement reads one of the most troubling aspects of the law is its “one-sided application.”

“While businesses are gagged, critics of resource development remain free to make negative or unverified claims without facing similar scrutiny,” said Mike Martens, president of ICBA Alberta. “This creates a lopsided marketplace of ideas, where one essential participant – the business community – is effectively silenced.”

A copy of the filing can be found .