Alberta Securities Act Amended To Introduce Safe Harbours For Climate-Related Disclosures

Background

Greenwashing has dominated corporate and regulatory conversations in recent years. From the introduction of new Competition Act provisions targeting misleading environmental claims to subsequent government efforts to recalibrate those rules after unintended consequences, the regulatory landscape has been in flux.

The Alberta Securities Act has historically provided safe harbours for certain disclosures, such as forward-looking information, offering issuers protection when they meet prescribed criteria (including using prescribed cautionary language, outlining material assumptions, etc.). However, no comparable protections existed for climate-related disclosures. This gap became evident earlier this year when a climate-focused investor advocacy group filed a greenwashing complaint with the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC), alleging securities law violations tied to climate-related statements, rather than pursuing remedies under the Competition Act.