Thursday, October 26, 2023

The Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry has the honour to present its

TWELFTH REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill C-234, An Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, has, in obedience to the order of reference of June 13, 2023, examined the said bill and now reports the same with the following amendments:

1.Clause 1, pages 1 and 2:

(a) On page 1, replace lines 4 to 15 with the following:

“1 (1) Paragraph (c) of the definition eligible farming machinery in section 3 of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act is replaced by the”; and

(b) on page 2, delete lines 1 to 10.

2.Make any necessary consequential changes to the numbering of provisions and cross-references resulting from the amendments to the bill.

Your committee has also made certain observations, which are appended to this report.

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Respectfully submitted,

Observations to the twelfth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry (Bill C-234)

Alternate technologies

The committee recognizes that greater public and private investment in research and development into viable drying and heating technologies is needed to prepare for the sunset clause provision of this bill. The financial burden of this technological transformation should not fall solely on the shoulders of farmers.

Supporting agricultural clean technology adoption

We have been made aware that the Agricultural Clean Technology Program is currently oversubscribed. In light of this, we strongly recommend expanding the accessibility and availability of this fund to a wider group of farmers as a critical step in mitigating greenhouse pollution emissions and fostering sustainable agricultural practices.

Bill C-8 rebate and Senate National Finance Committee

On June 9, 2022, the Government and Parliament introduced a refundable tax credit via Bill C-8, designed to return the estimated fuel charge proceeds from the on-farm use of natural gas and propane in grain drying and barn heating activities to farmers located in backstop jurisdictions. The Committee recommends that the Department of Finance work with the Canada Revenue Agency to target this refund more precisely and effectively to farms that rely on natural gas and propane for grain drying, or to eliminate it if Bill C-234 is adopted, to avoid double compensation.

The Committee notes that it did not receive a report from the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance pertaining to these matters, as requested by the Senate through a motion adopted on June 13, 2023. The financial aspects of this matter merit further examination, per the Senate’s motion.

Climate change and agriculture

The Committee observes that climate change is a major and worsening threat to the stability of Canada’s agricultural sector. The Committee urges the federal government to continue to develop, support, and appropriately fund programs, including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s business risk management programs such as AgriStability and AgriInsurance to stabilize on-farm revenues at risk, due to extreme weather events and other sources of volatility.