Senator Gold, my question is for you as the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

I recently met with the Canadian Canola Growers Association. Their industry contributes $26.7 billion to the Canadian economy per year and employs 250,000 Canadians. In 2019 alone, canola exports were worth $9.3 billion. This is probably well known to you. What is little known is the sustainability efforts canola farmers have implemented on their own initiative.

They have set targets for 2025 that include an 18% reduction of fuel use per bushel, a 40% decrease in the amount of land required to produce a tonne of canola, and the sequestering of 5 million tonnes of GHG emissions per year. Yet, in spite of these efforts, the government has not given them a break on the carbon tax, even during the pandemic.

Senator Gold, I have a question for you and I hope the answer will not simply be, “This government supports our Canadian farmers.” We have heard that and they tell us they are important, but they just don’t show it. Did the government take into account the enormous and environmental efforts made by our farmers, such as those I have just described, before imposing an onerous carbon tax on them? If so, why in these exceptionally difficult times, when the government is handing out so much money to so many people, do they continue to impose such an additional burden on the canola growers?