Health and climate groups call for Online Harms Act to address disinformation threats to environmental and public health

Ottawa | Traditional, Unceded Territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People | June 9, 2026 — As the federal government prepares to table online harms legislation tomorrow, June 10th, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment (CANE), Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) and Équiterre are urging Parliament to ensure the future Online Harms Act (OHA) addresses the growing harms of online disinformation and misinformation to public health, democracy and freedom of expression for all Canadians. Their call comes as the federal government is expected to introduce OHA legislation on June 10.*

For physicians and environmental health advocates, online disinformation and misinformation* is increasingly a public and environmental health issue. The World Economic Forum qualifies disinformation as a top global risk for political and economic stability. Digital platforms are profiting directly from the rapid spread of disinformation and propaganda, while people in Canada pay the price. During Canada’s 2023-2024 recent wildfire seasons, false information spread rapidly, hindering firefighters and evacuations and putting lives at risk.

False health information also drives growing health-care costs and concrete health harms. 97% of Canadian doctors report having had to intervene to prevent harm or counter the consequences of misleading information online. Without safety, transparency and accountability from major digital platforms, our privacy, freedom of expression and information, and health are increasingly at risk. People in Canada want the government to act: 69% believe the government should require online platforms to act responsibly.

In a joint letter sent last week to Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Heritage, CAPE and partnering organizations called on the federal government to address broader threats to information integrity, including climate and health disinformation in the OHA. Recommendations include stronger platform accountability, greater transparency around algorithms and online advertising, measures to limit the monetization of harmful content, and improved access for independent researchers studying systemic online risks.

As Parliament prepares to revisit online safety legislation, policymakers must ensure that public health, climate resilience and information integrity are included as core objectives of the new framework. Canada has already committed internationally to strengthening information integrity through initiatives such as the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change.

Quotes

Leah Temper, Health & Economic Policy Director at the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, said:

“Dangerous online disinformation can create confusion during emergencies, undermine public health advice, delay protective actions, and put people’s health and safety at risk. As the government prepares to table online harm legislation, we deserve stronger safeguards that ensure safety by design and platform and algorithmic accountability. A meaningful Online Harms Act must recognize algorithms are not neutral and hold platforms accountable when their systems amplify harmful falsehoods for profit.”

Charles-Édouard Têtu, Analyst, Climate and Energy policy at Équiterre, said:

“Joining the Global initiative on information integrity comes with responsibility and is only the first step in a major shift. Disinformation is the main short term threat to our democracy, our economy and capacity for cooperation. The Online Harms Act is the perfect opportunity to adopt a performant and adapted framework to regulate disinformation and empower Canadians and our institutions in the fight against such threats.”

Dr. Émilie Tremblay, President of the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment, said:

“The federal government’s top priority should be to protect Canadians’ health. This responsibility includes addressing and mitigating climate-change and health disinformation, which can undermine public well-being and informed decision-making.”

Philip Newell, Communications co-chair, the Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) coalition, said:

“86% of Canadians want Ottawa to take action on the climate disinformation broadcast by addictive Big Tech platforms during extreme weather events like wildfires because when lives are on the line, it should be easier to find the truth than lies online. We’ve seen the price of the failures to rein in big tech around the globe, and Prime Minister Carney risks making the same mistake. We cannot force children and adults to fix the disinformation problem, and instead must require platforms to redesign their systems for safety and transparency.”

^{About Équiterre}

^{Since 1993, Équiterre has been helping to find solutions, transform social norms and encourage ambitious public policies through research, support, education, mobilization and awareness building initiatives. This progress is helping to establish new principles for how we feed ourselves, how we get around and how we produce and consume, that are designed for our communities, respectful of our ecosystems, in line with social justice and of course, low in carbon.}