The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan has applied for intervener status in the provincial government’s challenge of the federal carbon tax.
President Todd Lewis said farmers will be directly impacted by the tax with no recognition of what they do to sequester carbon.
“We’re not getting credit for what we’ve done in the past or what we’re going to do in the future,” he said in an interview. “We felt the exemption on farm fuels wasn’t enough. It’s going to cost us a lot more than that.”
Read Also
Stock dogs show off herding skills at Ag in Motion
Stock dogs draw a crowd at Ag in Motion. Border collies and other herding breeds are well known for the work they do on the farm.
APAS said a carbon tax that adds costs on to farm operations will actually make producers less able to adapt to climate change.
Lewis said while large emitters can buy credits to reduce their contributions, agriculture has no such option.
“If the courts are interested in hearing our story we’re sure going to tell it,” he said.
Farmers say the carbon tax will add tens of thousands of dollars to their bottom lines but quantifying those estimates has been difficult.
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture is working with the federal environment department on crunching some numbers to get a better idea of the costs.
Lewis said he has heard talk of small containers of oil being exempt from the tax but large 1,000-gallon barrels subject to the tax, which doesn’t seem environmentally friendly if true.
He said the decision not to exempt propane and natural gas for livestock barns is wrong and farmers are frustrated.
He added Saskatchewan has 43 percent of Canada’s cropland and 35 percent of grassland so farmers are making a large contribution to sequestering efforts.
Provincial Agriculture Minister David Marit told the APAS annual meeting he appreciated their support in the court case.
Saskatchewan has asked its Court of Appeal to rule on whether the federal carbon plan is constitutional. That case is expected to be heard in February.
Ontario has also challenged the plan’s legality but no date has been set.
New Brunswick recently said it would seek intervener status on behalf of Saskatchewan and Ontario, while British Columbia and environmental organizations Ecojustice and the David Suzuki Foundation want to support Ottawa.
The National Farmers Union also came out in support of the federal government, saying individual farmers can limit emissions but can’t prevent climate change on their own.
Stewart Wells, second vice-president, said farmers are the canaries in the coal mine where climate change is concerned.
“But sooner or later everyone will come to understand that the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment,” he said.
Meanwhile, the $20-per-tonne tax to be imposed in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick is set to start in April. Ottawa has said 90 percent of the tax will be returned to residents through a tax credit.
