As we drift into a new year, an opportunity presents itself to refocus and take a fresh look at the issues at hand. Some people make New Year’s resolutions, some think about changes, and others take advantage of the fresh calendar to implement real change to benefit stakeholders and their own position. This restart with… Read More
Category: Carbon tax
The federal government’s Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) could create a new market equal in size to that of Japan’s for Canadian canola, according to the Canola Council of Canada. The draft regulations supporting the new fuel standard, which would require fuel companies reduce the lifecycle carbon intensity of their fuels, were published in Canada Gazette… Read More
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Marie-Claude Bibeau is still waiting to hear back from western provinces on her proposal to adapt the AgriStability program for 2020. Given that the calendar is set to flip to 2021 soon, the clock is winding down on the likelihood of changes being in place for 2020, she says…. Read More
Any optimism over the updated Clean Fuel Standard, set to be revealed Friday, December 18, has been over-shadowed by last week’s environmental plan that includes an upward incline in carbon taxes to 2023. Markus Haerle, chair of the Grain Farmers of Ontario, has many positive things to say about the opportunity for diverting corn into… Read More
Canada’s Clean Fuel Standard is likely to be published Friday, kicking off a comment period ahead of the standard becoming law. For a what-we-know and what-we-don’t discussion, we go to Marla Orenstein, of the Canada West Foundation, on this RealAg LIVE! Q&A. Don’t miss a new LIVE! every weekday at 3 pm E on social… Read More
Several farm industry groups are voicing their displeasure of the government’s announcement last week to ramp up the carbon tax over the next 10 years. The Grain Farmers of Ontario say they are “infuriated” by the plan and call it a “continued campaign to tax food production for Canadians.” Previously, the federal government had denied… Read More
The proposed rules for the federal government’s new Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) are set to be published this week, and will include changes aimed at addressing some of the concerns farmers and farm groups raised regarding an earlier proposal, according to a government document and government sources familiar with the file. Several farm and commodity… Read More
The federal government has rolled out its new major plan for addressing climate change, including a proposed increase in the federal carbon price to $170 per tonne by 2030, and the implementation of the Clean Fuel Standard. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, and several other cabinet ministers announced the plan on Friday,… Read More
A new report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer projects how much money would be removed from the federal government’s coffers if a carbon tax exemption were granted for on-farm use of propane and natural gas for drying grain and heating barns. The PBO analysis estimates an exemption, as proposed in Bill C-206, would cost the… Read More
While we know the meanings of the words carbon and tariff, the term carbon tariff has been floating around in the media lately, and it’s a phrase that maybe some of us haven’t heard before and might not yet fully understand. The entire concept, however, may have some upsides. “Carbon tariffs, or carbon border adjustments,… Read More
The Province of Saskatchewan is requesting that the Supreme Court settle the issue of constitutionality of the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, and will be arguing its carbon tax reference case on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. “We believe that we have strong legal grounds in this case, particularly considering that we’re arguing on… Read More
In a leadership race finale that stretched well into the early hours of August 24th, Erin O’Toole emerged victorious. O’Toole, Member of Parliament for Ontario’s Durham riding, succeeds Andrew Scheer as Conservative Party leader. He defeated party co-founder Peter MacKay on the third ballot. Leslyn Lewis, who received the most votes in the majority of… Read More
Have you ever wondered what the carbon offset value is of those shelterbelts on your land? A new app developed by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) may soon be able to help you estimate their economic value. “People tend to focus on the negative environmental aspects of farming such as the greenhouse gases… Read More
An answer to a follow up question on a conference call by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada minister Marie-Claude Bibeau struck a nerve last week. Bibeau said that the carbon tax on fuel used for grain drying wasn’t a significant enough percentage of operating costs to qualify for an exemption to the “price of pollution.” In… Read More
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has crunched the numbers on the carbon tax applied to grain drying bills and says it’s simply not a significant enough amount of overall costs to be exempt from the tax. Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau held a Zoom conference call to announce a second intake for the Local Food Infrastructure Fund,… Read More