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Hypocrisy in action

December 4, 2014 - The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities is condemning Greenpeace Canada's attempt to use false information to attack the business relationships of a major employer in Northern Ontario.

Greenpeace Canada is asking its supporters to write false reviews to attack a corporation it dislikes as part of a campaign to disrupt Canada's economic interests. The dirty tricks request is one of five "cyber-activist tasks" sent in a December 1st email by Aspa Tzaras to Greenpeace supporters.

Tzaras, Greenpeace Canada's Volunteer Coordinator, urges people to "Write a false product review on Best Buy's website." To leave no doubt about its purpose, the email further suggests, "Be creative and make sure to weave in the campaign issues!" Greenpeace is attempting to bully Best Buy into sourcing its paper products from companies other than Resolute FP, a major contributor to the economy of northern Ontario.

When it was recently revealed that PR firm Edelman was considering using third parties to campaign for TransCanada's EnergyEast pipeline plans with truthful information, Greenpeace's Keith Stewart called this sort of behaviour "dirty tricks". Now Greenpeace wants its supporters to plant false reviews to further its own agenda.

In a November 18th CBC story, Stewart was quoted attacking TransCanada's possible use of sympathetic allies to make comments supporting their position:

"When they actually try to do it in a sneaky manner, having attacks on their critics being co-ordinated by TransCanada but not putting their name on it, that's where I have a real problem," said Stewart in an interview with CBC.

Yet just two weeks later, Greenpeace Canada is sending out a message to encourage its supporters to plant false information on its behalf without Greenpeace's name being on it.

"Greenpeace likes to cloak itself in a sanctimonious mantle of purity, but its actions are anything but. This is just more proof that Greenpeace wants to be immune to every rule it seeks to impose on others," said Al Spacek, Mayor of Kapuskasing and President of FONOM "Fabricating information in order to damage our economy while calling out opponents seeking to reveal truthful information about Greenpeace is the worst form of hypocrisy."

Greenpeace Canada is subject to legal action by Resolute FP regarding allegations of defamation and interference with economic relations. Greenpeace has been demonstrated to have made false allegations about Resolute FP in the past, which they have withdrawn.

December 4, 2014  By FONOM