QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
Carbon Tax
November 22, 2023
Welcome to the Senate, minister. I would like to keep talking about the price on carbon and the exemptions being granted. Some exemptions have been around since the carbon tax was created, including for farmers and oil producers.
Can you explain the reasoning behind these original exemptions, including on certain fuels in agriculture or even on oil production? What percentage of emissions tied to the production of oil and gas is subject to the carbon tax?
As I was saying to your colleague earlier, we looked at the applications in agriculture. There were alternatives in the agricultural sector. We looked at the applications for which there was no alternative.
The purpose of carbon pricing is to change behaviours in the industrial sector and among individuals. In the agriculture sector, we realized that some applications have no alternative. We therefore didn’t apply carbon pricing in those cases.
In the case of grain drying, for example, there are alternatives that we support with farmers. We applied the carbon pricing and we have brought in programs to support the transition in this sector.
Specifically for farmers, the technology to transition away from fossil fuels for drying grain exists around the world. How long will it take to implement in Canada this technology that exists around the world? Will it take eight years? Thank you.
I don’t have a time frame for you, but as I was telling your colleague earlier, we have already supported the installation of 128 grain-dryer projects that have been approved and supported by the federal government. I don’t have the total, but we can get that information to your office.
