Environment Canada scrubs environment from FB page

Environment Canada Explains Facebook Rebrand With Confusing Statement

The Huffington Post Canada | By Zi-Ann Lum

Environment Canada quietly changed the name of its Facebook page earlier this week — scrubbing the name of the actual federal department from its profile.

As of Tuesday, “Environment Canada” is now known as “Conserve, Restore, and Connect with Nature” on the social network. The rebrand was made to both the department’s English and French pages.

The page is still listed as a “government organization.”

It’s a semantic shift that isn’t sitting well with some followers of the page.

“In all honesty, this looks a little silly. Leave it formally as Environment Canada. it looks more professional,” wrote Facebook user Dylan Adams.

“This feels like election propaganda,” said Laura Krohn.

The NDP’s environment critic reacted to the change by calling the decision “absurd.”

“The removal of the word ‘environment from Environment Canada’s Facebook page is at best confusing, but it’s also a pretty sad symbol of how the Conservatives have systematically dismantled environmental protections in Canada,” NDP MP Megan Leslie told Metro News.

The Huffington Post Canada asked the department why the pages’ names were changed. Here’s their explanation:

“Environment Canada’s Facebook page is changing names to reflect a broader theme-based approach that is aligned with the overall Government of Canada web renewal initiative. The goal of the Web Renewal Initiative is to consolidate 1,500 departmental websites into one website by December 31, 2016.
“On December 18, 2013, the Government of Canada launched Canada.ca, the first step to ensuring that our online presence puts the needs of Canadians first.
“Environment Canada is a theme-lead department, responsible for the Environment And Natural Resources theme on canada.ca.
“The changes to Facebook are reflective of a theme approach rather than a departmental approach. They comply with the Federal Identity Program.
“Environment Canada will continue to publish departmental content on its Facebook page; however, it will be working more closely with other Government of Canada Environment and Natural Resources theme partners, such the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, to include additional content on its Facebook page.
“Environment Canada will also be working with other theme leads to promote content where appropriate.”

Environment Canada drops department name from Facebook page

By Michael Woods Metro News July 16 2015
Environment Canada has rebranded its Facebook page by completely removing the department’s name, leaving some users confused and annoyed.

The page now has more a unwieldy title: “Conserve, Restore, and Connect with Nature.” The change this week means there’s scant evidence of the Environment Canada name on the page.

It’s a move NDP environment critic and deputy leader Megan Leslie calls “absurd.”

“The removal of the word ‘environment’ from Environment Canada’s Facebook page is at best confusing, but it’s also a pretty sad symbol of how the Conservatives have systematically dismantled environmental protections in Canada,” said Leslie, the MP for Halifax.

The name change also raised eyebrows among Facebook users. “I’m sorry that you think “Environment” is a bad word,” one user wrote. “This name change is confusing and annoying,” wrote another.

An Environment Canada spokesman said the Facebook page is changing names “to reflect a broader theme-based approach” as part of the government’s web renewal initiative, which is consolidating 1,500 departmental websites into one website by the end of next year. The government launched Canada.ca in December 2013, the first step in that process.

“Environment Canada is a theme-lead department, responsible for the Environment and Natural Resources theme on canada.ca,” spokesman Mark Johnson said in an email. “The changes to Facebook are reflective of a theme approach rather than a departmental approach.”

In announcing the change earlier this week “to a broader theme account to discuss ways to conserve, restore and connect with nature,” the department also listed seven department Twitter accounts to follow “for updates on what the Government of Canada is doing to help protect the environment.”

But Leslie said she thinks the Conservative government is trying to give its environmental reputation a facelift and the move is “shameless self-promotion.”

Leslie suggested the page’s focus on individuals connecting with nature narrows the focus, and doesn’t include material about the government’s role in protecting the environment.

“Nature is a part of environment for sure, but when you say the word environment to most Canadians, they think of a whole suite of things, including climate change,” she said. “The Conservatives don’t want to talk about that kind of stuff.

“But no amount of branding will reverse the harm that they’ve done to our environment through cuts to science, through inaction on climate change, through gutting our environmental protections,” she added.