The Senate agriculture committee released recommendations to avert federal carbon pricing
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
The federal government should consider alternative measures to cut carbon emissions rather than simply taxing Canadians.
That’s the message members of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry delivered today following the release of its report, titled Feast or Famine: Impacts of climate change and carbon pricing on agriculture, agri-food and forestry.
“What happens to producers who may end up paying higher (production) costs?” Senator Diane Griffin, chair of the committee, told reporters. “If it costs more to grow food, producers will have to pass on those costs to consumers or eat them as part of their business.”
Diane Griffin
Farmers who can’t be profitable may have no choice but to leave the industry, she added.
“The profit margins in agriculture are not large to start with,” she said. “So, if a farmer is in a competitive market dealing with farmers in other countries who do not pay a carbon tax, that farmer is at a disadvantage in our country.”
As part of its report, the committee released 16 recommendations for the federal government to help the agriculture and forestry sectors cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The suggestions include increasing national ethanol levels in gasoline and investing more into climate change research.
Imposing a carbon tax is one way of encouraging industries to reduce their environmental footprints, but it isn’t the only way, said Ron Bonnett, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.
“The tax is just one tool,” he told reporters. “What can we actually do to reduce that carbon input? I think we need to find a mechanism to incent the investment and innovation that can really do a lot to reduce the carbon footprint. Taxes alone aren’t going to do it. Research is critical (and) there’s a lot of work that can be done looking at new plants and new planting techniques.”
A carbon tax may also deter others from entering the industry.
The average age of a Canadian farmer is 55, the 2016 Census of Agriculture found.
If becoming a farmer is more expensive, workers may look for careers in other industries, Griffin said.
“We’re having a problem in our country with not enough young people going into the farming industry, so (the carbon tax) potentially will make it even worse,” she said. “We heard from a lot of people about problems getting enough labour and so many foreign workers being needed because we can’t get enough local people.”
Orientaly/iStock/Getty Images Plus