The environmental NGO sector is the most unregulated industry in the country but nobody in Ottawa is scrutinising them or the claims they make, warns one of Canada’s top public policy experts at the BC Salmon Farmers AGM.
Commentary
By Fabian Dawson
SeaWestNews
Canada’s crackdown on greenwashing sends a clear message: if you’re going to make environmental claims, they better be true.
Companies can no longer slap a “green” label on their products or operations without solid proof. The changes to the Competition Act and the Competition Bureau’s new guidelines issued this week, are a much-needed step to protect consumers and restore credibility in sustainability marketing.
But there’s a glaring omission in how the law is being applied: activist environmental groups remain unaccountable for the misinformation they spread.
For years, Canadians have been told to “trust the science.” But when science contradicts the apocalyptic narratives pushed by well-funded activist organisations, that science is conveniently ignored.
These groups routinely exaggerate, distort, or outright fabricate environmental threats to advance their agendas. In many cases—especially in the ideological war against salmon farming in British Columbia—their campaigns rely more on cherry-picked data and emotional messaging than peer-reviewed evidence.
And yet, they face no consequences.
At this week’s Annual General Meeting of the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association, Dr. Ken Coates, a public policy expert and Director of Indigenous Affairs at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, called it out plainly.
“The environmental NGO sector is [the] most unregulated industry in the country. It’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said, adding that nobody in Ottawa is scrutinising them or their claims very much.
Coates described how anti-fish farming activist groups in B.C. use aggressive, highly organised tactics, including personal attacks and political targeting, without any accountability for the misinformation they employ.
“Real frustration exists with the people…who it appears sometimes have never seen a fish, making all the decisions about your livelihood and about your industry and about your sector,” Coates told the AGM.
Joel Richardson, Chair of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA), echoed that sentiment.
“We’re up against very well-funded, connected organisations, many of which are backed by foreign sources with competing business interests. They are building campaigns meant to sow confusion and fear and are building businesses and fundraising off the backs to undermine and ostracise the very people whose livelihoods depend on aquaculture,” he said.
“In my view, NGOs who conduct these activities and spread false information, putting domestic food security in Canada and jobs at risk, should have their charitable and not-for-profit statuses revoked.”
One of the clearest examples of this misinformation campaign is the ongoing claim that open-net salmon farms are responsible for sea lice outbreaks in wild salmon. This claim has been thoroughly debunked by scientific research, including studies from the government’s own experts.
Yet it played a central role in the Trudeau-era decision to begin phasing out salmon farms in British Columbia.
Now, the same tactics are being deployed in Atlantic Canada. Activist-backed websites like “salmon.info” are once again spreading misleading narratives, all under the banner of public education.
“I cannot allow the publication of a deceptive new website ‘salmon.info’ to go unchecked, especially at this time when Canada’s food security and economy need to be strengthened,” said Tom Taylor, Executive Director of the Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association.
Salmon.info, which is operated by well-known anti-salmon farming groups, presents itself as an “evidence-based resource hub” meant to inform the public about salmon farming and seafood.
“But upon closer review, a more apt name for this site is ‘Salmon.misinfo’. The sources cited are carefully chosen to support their anti-salmon farming agenda…many are outdated and selectively interpreted,” said Taylor.
“Masquerading as a neutral resource, this site pushes tired myths about salmon farming and cherry-picked science as part of a well-funded, U.S.-backed campaign to undermine ocean-based salmon farming and the communities behind it.”
If Prime Minister Mark Carney is serious about building a stronger, science-driven Canada —one that champions local food security, rural jobs, and reconciliation with Indigenous communities—then this double standard cannot continue.
Greenwashing doesn’t just happen in corporate boardrooms. When activist groups distort facts, ignore peer-reviewed science, and mislead the public to serve ideological or commercial goals, they are equally guilty of deception, and should be held to the same standard.
Canada’s future can’t be built on misinformation. It has to rest on facts, fairness, and a shared commitment to sustainability.
The Competition Bureau’s new mandate is a good start.
But if we want a Canada where trust in government, truth in advocacy, and fairness in policy all matter, then accountability can’t be selective or politically convenient.
(File image of Dr. Ken Coates, a public policy expert and Director of Indigenous Affairs at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute)