DECEMBER 2022 THE RIDER /45 OFA Viewpoint OFA pleased with strong support for broader fuel tax exemption for farmers


food Economics Systems that es- timated the ex- plicit


cost


By Peggy Brekveld, Presi- dent, Ontario Federation of Agriculture Canadian agriculture


has come another step closer to expanded fuel surcharge exemptions for essential farming activities, which will bring meaningful relief to farmers across the coun- try.


The House of Com-


mons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri- Food has approved a private member’s bill exempting propane and natural gas used for heating livestock barns and drying grain from federal carbon surcharges, sending it back to the House for third and final reading. The federal fuel sur-


charges for the price on car- bon


have placed a


significant financial burden on many farmers across Canada. As farmers, we de- pend on fuels like natural gas and propane to heat and cool livestock barns or dry grain crops to keep them from spoiling. These aren’t optional activities – and un- fortunately, there currently are no practical, affordable alternative energy options readily available. Last year, the Ontario


Federation of Agriculture (OFA) released results from research conducted by Agri-


burden of the fuel charge on livestock hous- ing with sea- sonal heating requirements, grain drying, and greenhouse production in Ontario to in- crease to just over $156 mil-


lion per year by 2030. The cumulative costs to Ontario farmers between now and full implementation of fed- eral carbon pricing struc- tures in 2030 are estimated at over $890 million. We recognize that


agriculture isn’t the only sector that is affected by carbon pricing, but the biggest challenge for our in- dustry is that we operate in a global economy and most farmers are price takers not setters. This creates a natu- ral inability to pass on in- creased costs through the price of the products we produce on our farms. That’s why the OFA


strongly supported Bill C- 234, An Act to Amend the Greenhouse Pollution Pric- ing Act, which is sponsored by Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb. We provided a written submission in support of the bill, and I recently travelled to Ottawa to make a presen- tation in favour of this leg- islation to the House of Commons Standing Com- mittee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. OFA has been push-


ing for broader agricultural exemptions for propane and natural gas to ensure that federal government efforts to reduce carbon emissions


don’t restrict our ability to produce food and fuel, or negatively impact animal welfare, food safety or food quality. If passed, Bill C-234


would expand the list of es- sential farming fuels exempt from carbon pricing to in- clude marketable natural gas and propane. It would also modify the definition of eli- gible farming machinery to explicitly allow natural gas and propane to be used to generate heat for raising and housing livestock and grain drying. The combination of


these two changes recog- nizes the significant and in- creasing financial burden the fuel charge has placed on farmers during an al- ready turbulent economic time and will provide imme- diate relief to Ontario farm- ers. It will also give the sector time to adapt and im- plement alternative solu- tions and technologies that will support Canada’s cli- mate change goals. The nature of agricul-


tural production and market- ing means that farmers are always looking for ways to reduce costs and improve


efficiencies. However, most technologies do not elimi- nate the current need for fossil fuels in agricultural production. In the agricul- tural sector, the cost of en- ergy alone without the fuel charge applied is already a significant price signal to drive improved efficiencies and reduce consumption. The point of a fuel


surcharge is to change be- haviour but because farmers must heat or cool livestock barns and dry grain, com- pletely changing this behav- iour is not a realistic option. We recognize the


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need for collective action on emissions and that we all have a role to play in miti- gating the impacts of cli- mate change. Agriculture, however, is one of the few industries also capable of sequestering carbon and ad- ditional opportunities for climate change progress lie with incentivizing farmers to manage the carbon cycle. We appreciate and


support the steps taken by Bill C-234 to improve the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act and ensure it is effective and equitable leg- islation. We believe the


passing of Bill C-234 is crit- ical to allowing our farmers to remain leaders in envi- ronmental stewardship with- out compromising our position in the world as pro- ducers of sustainable, nutri- tious food. For more information,


contact: Tyler Brooks Director of Communica- tions and Stakeholder Rela- tions Ontario Federation of Agri- culture 519-821-8883 ext. 218 tyler.brooks@ofa.on.ca


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