Honourable senators, I rise today to speak in support of Bill S-215, An Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act relating to farm exemptions.

First, I want to thank Senator Griffin for introducing this important and timely legislation. We have been hearing a lot about this issue from the agricultural sector in all corners of this country, and it is something that must be addressed. As we all know, the carbon tax, or a price on pollution, came into effect last year in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It has since come into effect in Alberta as well.

Now that we have had a full growing season under the carbon tax, we are really starting to see the effects on farmers in those provinces. Farmers are already exempt from the tax when it comes to diesel fuel. Bill S-215 would exempt them from other fuels as well. Specifically, this bill will amend the definitions of “eligible farming machinery” and “qualifying farming fuel” in the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act.

The current Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act defines “eligible farming machinery” and specifies that “property that is used for the purpose of providing heating or cooling to a building or similar structure” is not included. This bill would add to that point in the definition.

Additionally, the act currently defines “qualifying farming fuel” as “a type of fuel that is gasoline, light fuel oil or a prescribed type of fuel.” This bill would change that definition to “a type of fuel that is gasoline, light fuel oil, marketable natural gas, propane or a prescribed type of fuel.”

One of the groups hardest hit by this increased cost is Canada’s grain farmers. As you are no doubt aware, we had a particularly wet growing season in many parts of Canada this past year. In fact, it’s been dubbed the “harvest from hell.” Unsurprisingly this has had a negative impact on grain yields. That negative impact was made far worse because of the extra propane and natural gas that farmers had to use to dry their grain.

As Senator Griffin said in her second reading speech, “grain drying is not an optional activity” for these farmers. Farmers don’t set their prices, so the additional costs are absorbed into their production costs, increasing the financial burden on individual farmers and making our agricultural industry a whole lot less competitive.

We’re not talking about a minor increase. The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, one of the region’s most severely impacted, estimates that an individual 5,000-acre farm will lose between $8,000 and $10,000 in net income this year alone because of the carbon tax. They expect those numbers to rise to between $13,000 and $17,000 by 2022, which is 12% of farmers’ net income.

Another significant expense to farmers comes from the heating and/or cooling of their barns and other structures. In some parts of our country, livestock farmers, poultry farmers and others already spend a lot of money heating their barns in winter. That cost, which is necessary for the survival and health of livestock, is now much steeper due to the added carbon tax.

Colleagues, I understand the seriousness and immediacy of the climate crisis. I am in no way trying to downplay it. I’m also not arguing against the price on pollution. I’m simply saying that the tax doesn’t affect all sectors equally, and it should be modified to minimize its harm on farmers. Not only do farmers do the vital work of providing us with food and fibre, they also have a major role to play in the fight against climate change. The additional cost to farmers with this carbon tax does not take into consideration the important part farmers already play and can further play in the mitigation of carbon emissions. Charging them extra makes it extremely difficult for them to invest in new, green technology or to undertake any other carbon reduction initiatives.

Farmers and others in the agricultural industry have been working hard, innovating in various ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Most notably, carbon sequestration is an extremely effective way of reducing our carbon emissions. I will be going into that in more detail in a future speech.

It should be noted that legislation is supported by agricultural organizations across the country, including Grain Growers of Canada and its member organizations, as well as the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Alberta Wheat Commission and many more.

Exempting farmers from the carbon tax is also supported by politicians of all stripes. For these reasons, I ask you to vote to pass the second reading of this legislation so that it can be moved on to committee stage, where we will be able to hear from the affected stakeholders including farmers and agricultural organizations and to give government representatives the opportunity to explain and defend their policies.

Thank you for listening. Meegwetch.