(File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

A green industry

Carbon tax poised to hurt farmers, says Sask. elected leaders

Mar 25, 2021 | 2:00 PM

A farmer and reeve in the Shellbrook area, west of Prince Albert, is fearing an impact on both the municipal operations as well as his own, following a ruling from the Supreme Court Thursday that finds the federal government’s carbon tax plan constitutional.

Doug Oleksyn explained the cost of fuel on the farm, as well as the transportation costs related to getting the grain to market (both by truck and rail), will most certainly be going up.

“And I don’t know going forward what’s going to happen on the rebate side,” he said. “It’ll definitely change the way we market stuff.”

The carbon tax, known legally as the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, was passed by the federal government in 2018. It sets a minimum price on carbon emissions and imposes a federal pricing system in provinces that don’t meet that price with a system of their own. Oleksyn said he has been encouraged in recent months to see prices increases, but acknowledged everything will catch up.

“You are starting to see increases on the fertilizer price side, like phosphate is probably up two-and-a-half times,” Oleksyn said.

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In its 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the federal government has the constitutional power to establish a price for greenhouse gas emissions. That dashed the hopes of the governments of Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta, all of whom were seeking to axe the tax.

“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court of Canada does not change our core conviction that the federal carbon tax is bad environmental policy, bad economic policy, and simply wrong,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said in a statement.

”While the Supreme Court has determined that Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau has the legal right to impose a carbon tax, it doesn’t mean he should, and it doesn’t make the carbon tax any less punitive for Saskatchewan people.”

Last May, Moe’s government challenged the constitutionality of the tax in the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. The court dismissed the challenge in a 3-2 ruling.

After Thursday’s decision was announced, Moe said the Saskatchewan government would “remain vigilant in defending our constitutional jurisdiction from further infringement from this federal government.”

Response from groups representing rural Saskatchewan

Todd Lewis, president of the Agricultural Producers Association (APASS), explained the tax applies to things that are essential on the farm like grain-drying, and heating your cattle barns.

“We are really punished for something we have no control over,” he said.

Lewis predicted that by 2030, when the carbon tax hits $170 per tonne, it’ll cost an extra $12.50 to produce an acre of wheat. Meanwhile Ray Orb, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM), explained that it’s because of the added transportation costs, and not what farmers are doing, that food prices will go up.

“People are going to have to pay more for food and it just doesn’t seem right during a pandemic,” he said.

Moving forward, Orb said SARM needs to sit down with both levels of government and now figure out what the back up plan is, adding the organization would like to see offset programs for initiatives such as direct seeding.

“We are not seeing a very good proposal from the federal government on that and we will continue to lobby through the province as well for better offset programs,” he said.

Response from the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP)

Prince Albert MP Randy Hoback, who is also a part of the standing committee on international trade, expressed his disappointment with the Supreme Court’s ruling, adding his belief the carbon tax will weaken Canada’s position with respect to global trade.

“All these costs our farmers are manufacturing through a carbon tax cannot be passed on and if you are selling in an international marketplace these are costs that you have that other competitors in the United States or Australia or New Zealand don’t have,” he said.

Hoback said he looks to seeing how the province will respond, explaining it’s essentially up to them now to get approval from federal government with any plan related to climate change and the environment. Hoback added Saskatchewan has already gone to great lengths to be stewards of the environment.

“When we have farmers that have been sequestering carbon and practicing no till, they should get credit for that, they should get paid for that and of course this federal government does’t recognize that, so that’s a frustration,” he said.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

– with files from CKOM and CJME