Nelson Zandbergen
Farmers Forum
OTTAWA — Parliament passed a carbon-tax exemption for grain-drying and barn-heating on March 29, sending private member’s Bill C-234 to the Senate for final approval.
The third and final vote in the House of Commons passed 176-146 with the Conservatives, NDP and Bloc Quebecois banding together in support of the bill, against the minority-governing Liberals. However, three members of Justin Trudeau’s caucus from PEI and Nova Scotia voted in favour, while the lone Ontario Liberal believed to be sympathetic to the measure — Francis Drouin (Glengarry-Prescott-Russell) — was absent.
The bill was spearheaded by MP Ben Lobb (CON – Huron-Bruce).
The Grain Farmers of Ontario congratulated Lobb and estimated that the average 800-acre farm would otherwise pay $36,800 annually in carbon taxes by 2030, while international competitors do not.
The Trudeau government imposed the tax three years ago, automatically increasing the levy every April Fool’s Day since then. The latest hike will bring the tax to $65 per tonne of CO2, which varies according to the type of fuel.
Assuming it passes the Senate, Bill C-234 will eliminate the tax on grain-drying, barn-heating, and greenhouse heating going forward from the day it receives Royal Assent.
Senator Rob Black told Farmers Forum that Conservative Senator Don Plett will sponsor the bill through the Senate. “I may be asked to be the critic, which in this case would be a friendly critic given my affinity for agriculture and support of this bill,” Black, a Trudeau appointee, said by email. Black added he would “not stand in the way of its passage.”
The Canadian Senate chamber. (Nelson Zandbergen photo)
