Suzuki Foundation accused of using misleading American photos to portray B.C. gas projects
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The complaint, put forward by eight B.C. residents, says that the Vancouver-based environmental charity repeatedly misled the public by using an aerial image depicting a dense cluster of natural gas wells scarring a landscape in Wyoming, taken in 2006, to falsely depict modern natural gas development in British Columbia's northeast.
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'(T)he Wyoming image paints a picture (that is) dirty, desolate and packed with natural gas well pads, as opposed the reality of a green area where natural gas development takes place around farms and public infrastructure,' reads the complaint.
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The 11-page complaint includes multiple screenshots of foundation materials that use the Wyoming photo, dating back to 2019. In one case, the foundation included text acknowledging the photo was from Wyoming, but it did not do so in other cases, the complaint alleges.
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The foundation continued to use the image after being made aware of concerns surrounding its use that summer, according to the complaint.
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Deena Del Giusto, one of the complainants, said in a statement to the media that the principle of truth in advertising should apply equally to charities.
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'This is about fairness and truth. The people of Northeast B.C. … deserve honest debate, not scare tactics and misleading imagery used to raise millions in donations,' said Del Giusto, a resident of Fort St. John, B.C.
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'We're asking the Competition Bureau to hold the David Suzuki Foundation to the same standard businesses face: tell the truth.'
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Del Giusto told the National Post she was inspired to take action when a client of hers in the trucking industry brought the foundation's use of the image to her attention.
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'I just didn't feel like it fairly reflected what was happening in the community, and felt strongly that I needed to do something about it,' said Del Giusto.
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Representatives from the David Suzuki Foundation did not immediately respond to National Post questions about the Competition Bureau complaint.
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