The Grain Growers of Canada (GCC) strongly support the Senate Public Bill S-215 brought forward by Senator Diane Griffin to exempt natural gas and propane from the carbon tax.
鈥淭his past year鈥檚 harvest from hell was difficult for grain growers across this country,鈥� said GGC chair Jeff Nielsen. 鈥淲e are so pleased that Senator Griffin brought forth this bill to recognize that farmers need immediate relief from the mounting costs to our bottom line.鈥澛�
The bill from Senator Griffin was driven by her experience as former chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry in the last parliamentary session. In the 2018 Senate report from the aforementioned committee, entitled 鈥淔east or Famine: Impacts of climate change and carbon pricing on agriculture, agri-food and forestry,鈥� recommendations were made to broaden the exemptions for agriculture.
The report specifically advocated for the exemption of propane and natural gas for all farming operations from the carbon tax 鈥� including costs to heat or cool a structure.
The legislation tabled recently follows those recommendations and seeks to include exemptions that should have been in place since the implementation of the Greenhouse Gas Pricing Pollution Act.
鈥淭hese costs are adding up and Canada鈥檚 grain farmers cannot continue to pay the price for inaction. A complete exemption for all fuels used on the farm is what we need to avoid these crises in the future and provide farmers with the resources to continue doing what we do best,鈥� said Nielsen.
鈥淭his will not be the last time where farmers face a tough harvest. We need a legislative and regulatory environment that reflects contributions that Canadian farmers have and continue to make towards the climate solution 鈥� while ensuring a sustainable future for this important industry.鈥�
Senator Griffin鈥檚 bill was tabled the same day as a similar piece of legislation in the House of Commons from Member of Parliament Philip Lawrence. While the two pieces of legislation are not identical, the GGC is happy to support both and will advocate strongly for them as they go up for debate in the respective chambers.
鈥淚n committee, farmers consistently indicated that they should be treated fairly regardless of the crop they grow or the livestock they raise. The government said that they require more evidence on how the carbon tax is impacting farmers,鈥� said Senator Griffin. 鈥淢y bill is complementary to a similar bill in the House of Commons. However, a Senate committee is the quickest path in Parliament to collect this evidence and provide the government and parliamentarians with recommendations.鈥�
鈥淚t is a very important step forward to see Sen. Griffin and MP Lawrence recognize the urgent need to support Canada鈥檚 grain farmers,鈥� added Nielsen. 鈥淭his will not be the challenging harvest and farmers need a legislative environment that reflects this new reality.鈥�
GGC expects that these bills will demonstrate that聽elected officials of all political stripes recognize the importance of immediate action. We urge all parliamentarians to support these critical pieces of legislation.
GGC provides a strong national voice for over 65,000 active and successful grain, oilseed and pulse producers through its 16 provincial, regional and national grower groups.
