The carbon tax has cost farmers thousands of dollars out of pocket and as of April 1st it went up 23%, from about $65 per ton to about $80 per ton.
“That carbon tax is not just once on a product. It’s there over and over and over again. That’s why it’s such a huge impact tax.”
A bill was imposed to help relieve farmers’ pockets but was turned down last minute by the Senate.
“There was this big upheaval politically and with that, the minister of environment put his foot down and he said, “There will be no more exemptions to my carbon tax in any way shape or form.” And this was right at the time, after a year and a half when our bill was in front of the Senate. And at that point, at the eleventh hour, it got axed, it got voted down … so it did not go through.”
“Our MP and so many people were on board and really, everybody thought we were there.”
And although farmers are stuck paying high rates, their carbon footprint might not be as big as we think.
“I’m growing corn. We own wood lot. That’s the kicker. I mean as a farm, as a whole, I am 99.9% convinced we are not a carbon producer, despite the use of our natural gas because we grow corn, we grow beans, we have wood lot and all of that absorbs carbon. So it’s a double-edged sword.”
Farmers will see an additional 2.7 billion dollars’ worth of expenses associated with the carbon tax in the next few years. This will be coming straight from their pockets.
Comments