Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (October 31, 2023)

Honourable senators, as a long-time journalist, I am not often shocked or surprised by what politicians say, but for a minister in the cabinet of this country’s government to state that if people in Western Canada voted Liberal, they, too, might be rewarded by a pause or a reduction in the punitive carbon tax — well, it’s beyond the pale, and it’s beyond what we deserve as citizens.

For those of us old enough to remember, it echoes the division and discord that came with the imposition of the National Energy Program or from the words of the Prime Minister’s father when he mused, “Why should I sell your wheat?” Well, at this rate, there won’t be much wheat, lentils or canola to sell.

Let me reiterate. This kind of politicking is divisive in the extreme. It’s unfair. It belies an ignorance about the diverse nature of this country — its rural communities, in particular. As Senator Simons pointed out, heat pumps don’t work when it’s minus 40, so we don’t use them. But that’s a debate for another day.

This report is a slap in the face to farmers and the entire agricultural sector who have pinned their hopes on some relief, as was offered by Bill C-234. That relief has now been snatched away by amendments here in this place which have the force and effect of gutting the bill and denying that much-needed relief.

We had a dry year in Saskatchewan, except that it rained and hailed for three days in late August when the crops were already cut. So now we need to dry the grain.

Farmers were partially exempt from the carbon tax on gasoline and diesel, but natural gas and propane — the fuels they use to dry their grain or heat their barns — were not exempted. This makes farming, food production, transporting, processing, marketing, selling and eating food more expensive.

Bill C-234 was passed with support from every single party in the other place, and I backed it wholeheartedly because compromising our food production should be non-negotiable. But the bill has been gutted, and so I can no longer support it. I urge everyone to vote against the report from the committee and reinstate the original intent of the bill because treating different regions differently because of how they vote is offensive.

It’s also a bit bizarre, I might say, that the government would undermine their core argument for climate policies. It’s their signature. They argued that this tax puts more money in our hands, that the rebates exceed the costs, but clearly not if they now agree that people need relief from the impact of the tax.

That’s what Bill C-234 was supposed to do, what it set out to do. Farmers are not asking for a handout. They put their money where their hearts and lives are. In my own province, for example, more than $11 billion is invested by farmers every spring to get their crops in the ground. This includes the cost of seed, treatment, fertilizer, labour and equipment.

Seeding is a megaproject when you consider the impact of all the component parts of that project, where the seeds come from, where the machinery is built and how the fertilizer is processed. This extends across and infiltrates every aspect of our economy. It’s impossible to overstate the value, not just to our province but to this country. And then comes harvest. Ditto. The economic impact is just as massive.

There are over 34,000 farms in Saskatchewan. That is 43% of the cropland in Canada, in this entire country. Saskatchewan generates more than $18 billion in international sales of that product, and they contribute over $82 billion just to the province’s GDP, never mind the country.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer provided an updated analysis of the exemption for qualifying farm fuel to natural gas and propane, and it shows farmers would save almost a billion dollars through to 2030 — one billion in taxes. That obviously makes our food more expensive in the middle of an affordability crisis. In fact, it makes life more expensive.

Colleagues, the cost of the carbon tax and the new Clean Fuel Standard — also a tax — to farmers is millions upon millions of dollars a year. These costs, of course, move along the supply chain as food makes it from farm to fork. And in the end, the consumer — each of us — pays more.

There are anxious farmers, consumers and businesses across this country who are counting on us, and we should do the right thing for every Canadian regardless of where they live or how they vote. Thank you.