44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 27, 2022 10:00AM
- Sep/27/22 1:19:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the question is, why does the government hate farmers? Why does the government think that taxes are going to fix these climatic natural disasters we have been experiencing? I do not see any correlation between increasing carbon taxes and reducing emissions.
Instead of producing more food and energy here and exporting to nations that are causing all the exposure to CO2 across the planet, why would the Liberals continue to undermine Canadian jobs, Canadian farmers and our own economy? I believe we have seen an escalation in these dramatic climate change events, such as the flooding we have continued to experience in Manitoba and the drought we have had the last two years, but not this year thankfully, across the eastern Prairies.
I know a tax has not changed one single thing, while emissions continue to rise. If the government wants to get serious, let us invest in the technology that reduces emissions rather than tax Canadians on their hard-earned dollars.
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- Sep/27/22 1:23:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am going to try to do something rare in this House. I am going to try to find common ground with my Conservative colleague, whom I know cares about farmers.
We are talking about taxes. Would the hon. member at least agree that with the ballooning costs of orphan wells, at over $1 billion, from the Prairies all the way to B.C., oil and gas companies have an obligation to pay their fair share of orphan wells so the cost does not get downloaded onto municipalities and the rural farmers he cares so much about?
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- Sep/27/22 3:03:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the average Canadian family now spends more of its income on taxes than it does on the necessities of food and shelter combined. Farmers in Bow River are paying millions in carbon taxes annually just to power their irrigation systems. Their hard-earned dollars are being syphoned off by the NDP-Liberal government rather than being reinvested in local economies, local infrastructure and local goods. Will the government end its planned tax increases on gas, home heating and groceries so farmers can get back to feeding the world and so Canadians can afford nutritious food?
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- Sep/27/22 3:03:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, on-farm fuel for farmers is exempt. As he would remember as well, through the fall economic statement last year we provided a carbon tax rebate for farmers, which they are eligible for this year, based on farm expenses.
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Mr. Speaker, it truly is an honour to speak in support of our opposition day motion for the Liberals not to increase the carbon tax.
I want to read a couple of quotes from agriculture producers I met with this summer, including a farmer in Ontario who told me the only threat to the success of his family farm is Liberal government policy. A Saskatchewan farmer said, “When it comes to farming, I feel like I'm digging my own grave to follow my dream.”
In fact, a recent survey showed that the biggest stressor for Canadian farm families is not commodity prices and it is not weather. It is government policy and regulation. I would say, for the first time, Canadian farmers see their government as an adversary, not an ally. This is having a huge impact on the financial and mental health of our Canadian farmers.
According to a survey on farmer mental health by the University of Guelph, 75% of farmers have mid to high stress levels and farmers are four times more likely to commit suicide than any other part of the general population. This is the kind of stress and anxiety that our Canadian farm families are facing, and their number one stressor is the policies and regulations imposed on them by the Liberal government.
I will take a moment to look at a couple of them before I get in depth on the carbon tax. Last November, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change announced there would be a fertilizer emissions reduction of 30%, with no consultation and no idea exactly what that would mean. However, now it is putting further pressure on Canadian farm families regarding what they are going to do to make themselves economically viable as the government takes away some of the most important tools they have.
Why is the government not looking at our hard-working Canadian farm families, our innovators, our agri-food businesses and our researchers as a critical part of the climate change solution? It is almost looking at them with disdain, instead of looking at them as part of the solution. For example, in 1981, the average farmer was getting about 27 bushels to the acre. Now they are getting more than 50, but the kicker is that they are doing that on less than half of the acreage, significantly reducing their carbon footprint. Do they get any credit for that whatsoever? No, they do not. On average, we are 50% more efficient in fertilizer use than any other country on the face of the earth. Do Canadian farmers get any credit for that? No, they do not.
Instead, when it came to this fertilizer emissions reduction policy, here is the narrative the Liberal government should have had. When the European Union started making massive cuts to fertilizer use in livestock production, that was its decision, but the Liberal government should have said, if there is an issue in the European Union, why not look at what we are doing here in Canada? Why not look at our innovators, our farmers, our experience, our technology, practices like precision farming, variable rates, 4R nutrient stewardship and show Canadians just how impressive Canadian agriculture is? Instead, its fallback every single time is to look at Canadian farmers, much like it does our energy workers, as the enemy rather than part of the solution.
According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, even if the carbon tax is increased to $170 a tonne, does anyone know what the impact on emissions from agriculture is? It is zero. The reason is that there are no other options. Farmers right now, many of them use combines and they cannot fuel them with anything other than diesel. As one of my Liberal colleagues told me a few months ago, they cannot put a solar panel on top of those machines. They run 24-7. They do not have any other options. This is what they do to ensure that they can not only feed Canadians but feed the world.
Now I would like to focus on the carbon tax specifically. We heard it again today in question period. In answer to a question from one of my colleagues, the parliamentary secretary said that farmers are exempt from the carbon tax on all farm fuels. That is patently not true. Some fuels are exempt, but fuels like natural gas and propane are still subject to the carbon tax. The Liberals are either misleading Canadian farmers or they really do not understand their own policy. The parliamentary secretary said in committee that, even talking to farmers in his riding, and he talked about it again in question period today, we have Bill C-8. We have a farm carbon tax rebate.
The message from the Liberals is always that the carbon tax is revenue neutral. We now know from Ontario grain farmers, from the Department of Finance and from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture that this is also not true. Farmers are getting less than 30% and in some cases less than 15% of what they are paying in carbon tax, through that rebate from the Liberal government.
In fact, the Department of Finance said that the average farmer was getting $800 a year through the carbon tax rebate. I have seen the carbon tax bills from some of my farmers, especially large poultry operations, large dairy operations and certainly our grain growers here in Ontario, who are drying grain or heating barns. Their carbon tax bills are in the thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of dollars a month.
When we hear the finance department say that it is revenue neutral because the farmers are getting $800 a month, that is a slap in the face to Canadian producers who are certainly carrying the burden of the carbon tax. It has basically become wealth distribution on the back of Canadian agriculture. When a Canadian farmer is getting between 13% and, on a good day, up to maybe 30% for their carbon tax rebate, members can see why, as the opposition in the Conservative Party, we are so adamant that we cannot see this carbon tax continue to rise and triple to $170 per tonne.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business also ratified and confirmed the numbers from the Grain Farmers of Ontario, saying that, in the first year, the average farmer paid about $14,000 in carbon tax. After it went up this previous April 1, the average farmer is now paying $45,000 in carbon taxes. My math is not always the greatest, but between $45,000 and $800 there is a big gap, which certainly shows that the carbon tax is not revenue neutral.
The frustrating thing is that the finance department know it and the Minister of Agriculture knows it, and the Liberals continue to allow this to happen. The Minister of Agriculture is complicit in seeing Canadian farmers being taxed to death. They are going to be losing their businesses.
We have put forward two private members' bills: one in the previous Parliament and one in this Parliament. The one in this Parliament is Bill C-234, which would exempt the carbon tax from all farm fuels. I am very happy to say that we have the support of all the opposition parties, which include the Conservatives, the Bloc, the New Democrats and the Greens. The holdout is the Liberal Party, the government, which still does not see that this was an error. The carbon tax should be exempt on all farm fuels and not just a couple. This is imperative to the financial success of Canadian farmers.
Farmers are the ones who are paying the carbon tax over and over again. When buying fuel, buying feed, buying fertilizer, transporting grain and transporting cattle, they are paying the carbon tax every single time. Here is the kicker: Many Canadian consumers see this as an agriculture problem and a rural issue, but farmers have nowhere to pass those costs on to. The result of that is seeing food prices go up more than 10%, which is the highest rate of inflation on food in more than 40 years. This impacts every single Canadian in every single corner of the country, as many Canadians are unable to put food on the table.
By tripling the carbon tax, which we are asking the Liberals not to do in a time of record inflation, they are demanding Canadians to pay more to fuel their out-of-control spending. They are demanding seniors to pay more. They are demanding that youth pay more. They are demanding single mothers to pay more. They are demanding our small business owners to pay more. They are certainly demanding our Canadian farmers to pay more. It is nonsensical, especially in a time of global food insecurity, when we need our Canadian agriculture to be firing on all cylinders to meet the demand that we are going to see, not only here at home but also around the world.
Therefore, I am asking my colleagues from all parts of the House to support our opposition day motion to ensure the financial and mental health of our Canadian farmers first and foremost because they are part of the solution. They are not the problem.
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- Sep/27/22 4:56:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am wondering if this opposition day motion is just a sneaky way to put in place the Conservatives' carbon tax plan. Earlier, my colleague referred to the 2021 Conservative platform, which spoke about the carbon tax that the Conservatives, had they been elected, would have implemented.
I am curious as to whether the hon. member spoke to farmers and if he got feedback on the fact that the Conservatives were going to implement a carbon price, but instead of cash in their pockets, people could redeem it for a bicycle or a transit pass. I am curious as to whether the member opposite spoke to farmers and his constituents and asked if they would prefer a bicycle, some Air Miles points or a transit pass, instead of cash in their pockets, like our plan has.
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- Sep/27/22 4:57:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I speak to farmers every single day. I am not sure if my colleague can say the same, but here is where the Liberals are so out of touch. We have the Liberal Minister of Agriculture saying farmers are in support of a carbon tax. We have the previous Liberal minister of agriculture saying farmers are in support of a carbon tax.
However, I can tell members that I have not talked to a single farmer, ranch family, agri-food producer or processor in Canada who supports the Liberals' carbon tax plan. This puts them out of business. This puts Canadian food security at risk, and this is why we are bringing our opposition day motion. The least the Liberals could do would be to support our PMB, Bill C-234, to exempt all farm fuels from the carbon tax.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate very much my hon. friend from Foothills correctly stating Green policy, because we do support Bill C-234. We think that what happened here was that the government's intention was to not put a carbon tax on farm fuels, and then we had that extremely flukey weather situation. We had farmers with wet grains, and they had to spend a lot more money than usual to dry the grain. To catch the additional costs of that fuel should have been covered in exemptions, so we completely support the member.
One quick point as well is that Green policy is to ban the importation of all foreign oil. That has been our policy for many years, and the hon. leader of the official opposition mis-stated it earlier today.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for my colleague, and if she keeps talking like this, she may as well cross the floor and join the Conservative Party.
In all seriousness, I do want to thank her for supporting Bill C-234. I agree with her. I do believe that is how this came about. However, it was not flukey weather, it was winter, and our farmers face winter every single year. When temperatures are low during calving season, we are heating barns to bring calves in. I know our farmers across the country are having to dry grain most years, and that is an increased cost they are going to be facing, which again puts their financial health at risk.
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- Sep/27/22 6:42:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to remind the member for Regina—Lewvan that this government has been making significant investments in Canadian agriculture. I am glad that he has been asking many questions, but I am going to stick to agriculture, as that is my passion and my job in the House.
I would remind the hon. member as well of the way our government has been supporting agriculture. Our total budget for 2021-22 was just shy of $4 billion, the highest in recent years. I would also remind him that there was $400 million cut when the Conservatives' hero, Mr. Harper, was in government. We have put back $500 million, and I am glad that the Province of Saskatchewan signed on this July for the federal-provincial-territorial meeting, which created a new program. This includes historic investments in innovation, business risk management, market development and compensating our producers and processors under supply management.
We fully recognize that the price of inputs increased due to a number of factors, including COVID and supply-chain disruptions, which is why we have taken concrete actions to help producers facing this challenge. We increased interest-free loans to provide them with the necessary cash flow to access key inputs, such as fertilizer. We increased the interest-free portion of the advance payments program from $100,000 to $250,000 to help producers cover the cost of inputs, including fertilizer, which is an average savings of $7,700 per producer and a total savings of $69 million over two years for the approximately 11,000 producers who take advantage of advances above $100,000. Canadian producers have access to business risk management programs, and we continue to make them more bankable for them.
In July, federal, provincial and territorial ministers agreed to increase the compensation rate under AgriStability to 80%, and I think that is good news for Saskatchewan. It would be up to an additional $72 million per year to better support our farmers in times of need. This builds on our removal last year of the reference margin limit, which could increase the overall amount that the program pays out to Canadian farmers by another $95 million a year.
We worked hard to ensure that Canadian producers have the support they need to succeed in the 2022 growing season, and producers have responded. As the harvest nears completion, Statistics Canada is projecting significant increases in production this year compared to last year, with over 55% for wheat and almost 40% for canola.
Let me remind the House that climate change is real. Last year, western farmers lost 38.5% of their crops. On this side of the House, we needed to act as this supports agriculture across Canada, and we are closely monitoring the situation with regard to the sourcing of the fertilizer needed for 2023.
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- Sep/27/22 6:45:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate my friend's comments from across the aisle.
One thing that I will not disagree with him on at all is that I firmly believe that Liberals know how to spend taxpayers' dollars. I believe that he could read a huge list of spending that this government has done, whether it is effective and efficient is a totally different debate.
However, one thing the member did bring up was fertilizer targets, and the fact that last year farmers lost about 35.8% of some of the crops that they planted. However, this government wants to bring in a fertilizer reduction target where it is going to put 30% less fertilizer in the fields for farmers. We talked to farmers in Saskatchewan and across the country, and they said that they would not be able to grow the same number of crops with that amount of fertilizer.
I am not sure if the member went out to Ag in Motion in Saskatchewan, but I would love him to come out for that tour. I think he might have actually, but it is doing amazing things in agriculture with technology. I went to the YARA incubator, where they actually can scan leaves in a field—
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- Sep/27/22 6:47:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member is so passionate about agriculture, and that is the one thing we share, whether from eastern Ontario or from Saskatchewan. We have had the opportunity to sit together on the ag committee, and while we are trading barbs, we are still friends outside of the House.
I can assure the member that for the 30% emissions reduction, we will achieve that by providing incentives and not by regulation. There will be no bans on fertilizer of any sort, it is just a matter of providing incentives, and farmers have done an amazing job.
Some farmers have adopted 4R, and we have provided some funding to the Canola Council of Canada so that it can increase the uptake on the 4R program with canola farmers out west. I think that is great news for agriculture, and I am sure that the hon. member will welcome the $500 million more of investments in agriculture that we announced this year, and that we announced in partnership with Saskatchewan.
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