My question is for the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Farmers in my community of Essex county are being punished because of the federal carbon tax. Many farmers need to use massive fans to dry down their crops in order to store them over long periods of time. If not properly dried, their grains and their corn will grow mould. Many of those fans are powered by natural gas, which is now subject to the federal carbon tax. Because of this regressive and crippling tax, farmers are having to pay additional costs of approximately $2,000 or $3,000 every year.

Farmers in my community of Essex county need our government to stand with them and oppose this regressive and harmful tax. Speaker, can the minister please explain how the federal carbon tax is negatively impacting farmers in Essex county and across Ontario?

But because of the federal carbon tax, many farmers are being hurt financially. Many farmers now have to pay thousands of dollars more in natural gas bills because of the regressive and harmful federal carbon tax. That’s not right and it’s simply not fair.

That’s why we need all members of this Legislature, especially the independent Liberals and opposition NDP, to understand the financial pain that the federal carbon tax is causing on so many people.

Speaker, can the minister please explain what impact the carbon tax is having on families in Ontario?