A new Privy Council report reveals federal agencies are weighing mandatory QR codes on consumer products to show their climate impact, with no budget specified.

"The Government of Canada is considering implementing digital product labels via QR codes to provide consumers with information needed to make informed purchasing decisions,” said the report Testing QR Code Designs, as reported by Blacklock's. 

Passed by parliament in 2023, the labelling was first proposed under Bill S-5, An Act To Amend The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, though it made no mention of QR codes.

It did, however, assert the apparent "right to a healthy environment."

Feds ponder mandatory QR codes on consumer products detailing climate impacts. Report @PrivyCouncilCa does not disclose costs: 'Our goal is to help Canadians.' https://t.co/QuA8DTM5Ox @EnvironmentCa pic.twitter.com/mswxBJH0c4

— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) September 5, 2025

A 2025 report highlights Private Member’s Motion M-35, passed in 2021, which emphasized that Canadian consumers want and deserve transparency about the environmental impact of their purchases. The motion proposed exploring an environmental grading label system for all products sold in Canada, with the report advocating for QR codes to provide accessible, detailed environmental impact information such as GHG emissions, waste, water, and chemicals.

Titled Testing QR Code Designs, the survey of 2,540 people found that only 22% of Canadians frequently scan QR codes and that a proposal to implement digital product labels was unpopular.

“Our goal was to better understand how we can help Canadians more easily access health and environmental information, to make more informed purchasing decisions,” wrote researchers.

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Before the survey, “little has been known about Canadians’ attitudes, preferences, and behaviours related to QR codes and digital product labels,” the report claimed. 

“Preferences for physical labels may be a barrier to widespread engagement with digital product labels,” wrote researchers. “Nearly half of respondents, 46 percent, preferred physical product labels over digital labels. About a fifth, 17 percent, preferred digital labels.”

“This understanding will assist in the design of digital product labels, and help inform future regulations related to businesses disclosing information about their products.”

Steven Guilbeault will no longer serve as the Liberals’ environment minister.

Guilbeault, who was previously convicted for eco-extremist activism before entering politics, describes the role as 'a privilege of a lifetime' pic.twitter.com/toZme1Cwx4

— Alexandra Lavoie (@ThevoiceAlexa) March 13, 2025

In 2022, then-Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault admitted to the Senate environment committee that the "right to a healthy environment" was vague and undefined, stating it would be implemented through regulations.

A prior joint Mandate Letter from ECCC and Health Canada required businesses to disclose product impacts on human health and the environment without explanation, according to Blacklock’s.

“It is the first time this right has been included in a federal statute in Canada,” said Guilbeault. “What does it mean? An implementation framework will set out how this right will be considered.”

Senators expressed skepticism that the proposal would avoid litigation, a point Minister Guilbeault conceded. “You’re right … this may be litigated.”