OTTAWA — A group of young people pranked the federal government on Wednesday by forging the Environment Canada website and using it to release false information in a bid to shine the spotlight on climate change.
The Canadian Youth Climate Coalition used a clone website to announce the relaunch of a discontinued elementary school curriculum that teaches students about climate change and human impacts on the environment. The release was also sent to thousands of Canadian journalists.
The forged news release quotes Environment Minister Peter Kent saying: “Climate change is the defining issue of our time. We know how important action on climate change is to Canadians, even more so now than in 1995. We are immensely proud to re-launch this groundbreaking, made-in-Canada educational program.”
“Our government does not take climate change and its consequences on our generation seriously,” said Malkolm Boothroyd of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition in a statement. “Programs like What a Difference a Degree Makes, show that the Government of Canada used to take the climate crisis seriously, but shifting priorities have placed the interests of polluters above those of current and future generations.”
The imposter site mirrors the news release page on the Environment Canada website and the media contact information is identical.
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It was flagged by a government official and Environment Canada was notified on Wednesday morning.
Kent’s office condemned the prank on Wednesday, saying calling it “dishonest.”
“There are responsible ways of bringing concerns forward- this is not one of them,” said Kent’s spokeswoman Melissa Lantsman. ” We condemn this blatant dishonesty and shameful misrepresentation of the Minister to Canadians.”
Lantsman said that Environment Canada is considering how to respond, including what kind of legal response there may be.
But the youth involved said they wanted to take action into their own hands.
“We’ve been preparing for over a year and over the next eight months, we will be visiting classrooms across Canada, taking on the task of educating thousands of youth about the causes, impacts and solutions to climate change,” said Amara Possian of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition.
It is not the first time Environment Canada has been targeted by a cyber hoax. In December 2009, U.S.-based pranksters called Yes Men admitted to sending out fake new releases from Environment Canada claiming that Canada had committed to drastic greenhouse gas emissions cuts. The releases were sent out during the United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen.
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