A federal bill to exempt farmers from the carbon tax on natural gas and propane used on the farm was passed by the House of Commons on Wednesday.
The Opposition joined forces to support the Private Member’s Bill from Ben Lobb, a Conservative Party MP from Ontario. Red Deer-Mountain View MP Earl Dreeshen and Red Deer-Lacombe MP Blaine Calkins were among the 176 members to vote in favour with 145 votes against.
Bill C-234 amends the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to extend carbon tax exemptions already in place for dyed farm gasoline and diesel to the additional fuels and will now go to the Senate for debate and review.
The bill seeks to exempt on-farm natural gas and propane fuel use from the carbon tax. Lobb said it will save farmers, many of whom use propane to heat barns or fuel grain dryers, thousands of dollars.
“Bill C-234 is all about ensuring farmers’ environmental contributions are fairly recognized and to ensure Canada’s food supply remains secure and sustainable now and into the future,” said Lobb in a statement.
“This exemption is needed to reflect the realities of the entire Canadian agriculture industry and the undue financial burden the carbon tax places on all the necessary practices undertaken by farmers and ranchers like drying grain, irrigating crops or heating and cooling livestock barns,” said John Barlow Conservative shadow minister for agriculture, agri-food and food security.
Central Alberta beef producer Richard Lorenz said farmers and ranchers will welcome the tax break.
Lorenz’s calving barn is heated with natural gas and the savings could be helpful.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a potato farm in Prince Edward Island or a chicken farm or with beef cattle or hog barns it should help to bring down our costs of production and maybe will save the person at the grocery store some money,” he said.
At a time when inflation has significantly boosted in put costs for farmers, the exemption could take some of the sting out of those rising bills.
“It could all help, for sure.”
Kevin Bender farms about 3,500 acres with his father and brother in the Sylvan Lake and Bentley areas and also sees a lot of upside to the legislation.
“We certainly welcome the passing of the bill,” he said. “It’s certainly a help for Canadian farmers and we’re grateful for that.”
Grain drying has become a useful tool for many farmers to preserve the quality of their grain. “If there’s a lot to be done it could get pricey.
“I know for livestock guys heating can be quite a cost during wintertime.”
Meanwhile, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on the Liberal government to scrap the tax altogether after a Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) report came out on Thursday showing the carbon tax costs Canadian families hundreds or dollars more than they get back in federal rebates.
“The PBO shows politicians are using magic math to sell their carbon tax,” said CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano.
Government claims that Canadian families will be better off because of carbon tax benefits and rebates is wrong, said Terrazzano.
He said the PBO concludes that most households will see a net loss, paying more in fuel charges and GST, as well as receiving lower incomes, compared to the Climate Action incentive payments they receive and lower personal income taxes they pay.
In Alberta, the carbon tax will cost the average household $710 more than they get back after rebates, says the CTF.
The carbon tax will also lead to Canadians contributing $429 million in additional GST in 2023-24, rising to $924 million by 2030-31.