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A Conservative MP’s private member’s bill that aims to exempt propane and natural gas used on farms from the federal carbon tax was approved at second reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday night.

MPs from the Conservative, New Democrat, Bloc and Green parties voted in favour of Ontario MP Philip Lawrence’s Bill C-206, sending it to the House of Commons agriculture committee with a 177 to 145 vote. Francis Drouin was the lone Liberal to support the bill.

Several farm groups, including Grain Growers of Canada, Grain Farmers of Ontario, and the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, have fully supported Lawrence’s bill, welcoming the effort to exempt fuels used for grain drying from the carbon tax.

However, the Liberals have decided to argue the bill won’t achieve its intended outcome with grain drying due to a technical issue with the wording of the bill.

“Bill C-206 does not provide relief for the fuel costs of grain drying, as it does not add grain drying as an eligible farming activity,” states Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, in an email shared with RealAgriculture late Wednesday.

As it stands, the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act defines “eligible farming activity” as “the operation of eligible farming machinery on a farm for the purposes of farming.” The subsequent definition for “eligible farming machinery” includes “an industrial machine or a stationary or portable engine.”

“That would include a grain dryer 100 out of 100 times,” said Lawrence, responding to Liberals’ claims about the bill’s wording in the House of Commons earlier this week.

Given their explanation, it’s not clear why Bibeau and the other Liberal MPs chose to vote against the bill rather than send it to the committee where an amendment could have been made to clear up any confusion around definitions.

Meanwhile, Bibeau and Wilkinson now say they plan to roll out rebates for users of natural gas and propane.

“We are committed to new rebates for on-farm fuel use such as grain drying, in order to both support our food producers and also encourage new investments in sustainable technologies, that go beyond existing exemptions for farm fuels and rebates for greenhouses,” say Bibeau and Wilkinson, without providing any further details on how the rebates would work.

The government will also make grain drying and barn heating a priority focus under a new $165 million agriculture clean technology fund, say Bibeau and Wilkinson, while also referring to a separate $185 million “Natural Climate Solutions for Agriculture Fund” to be announced in the coming months.

Bill C-206 was originally introduced in February 2020. It will now be reviewed by the House of Commons agriculture committee after which it could be brought back to the House for a third and final vote. It would then need to go through the Senate approval process before becoming law.

Alliance Seed and SeCan say they’ve agreed to a cash settlement worth over seven hundred thousand dollars with a large farm in southern Alberta that made unauthorized sales of barley and wheat varieties protected by plant breeders’ rights (PBR) legislation.

Alliance, SeCan and one unnamed seed distributor will receive $737,597 in compensation for royalties, as well as legal and investigative costs, and a declaration that there will be no additional unauthorized sales, the companies say. They also agreed to not name the farm publicly.

“We are pleased to finally put this one to rest – it has been in the works for five years and covers sales spanning six seasons,” notes Todd Hyra, business manager for Western Canada with SeCan.

The settlement is three times the size of any previous PBR settlement in Canada. The companies say it involved not only advertising and sales of protected varieties, but custom seeding of protected varieties.

“Infringers need to be aware – it is not just a matter of paying royalties owing when you get caught. Settlement normally includes royalties, investigative and legal costs, and other damages, which can result in very substantial payments,” says Jim Bagshaw, general manager of Alliance Seed.

Hyra also describes the case as “an example of how the seed industry needs to work together to continue to educate and enforce PBR to ensure we have a robust breeding network in Canada working for producers.”

“The CPTA – now a division of Seeds Canada – was integral in helping build this case and continues to lead the industry in protection of intellectual property. Anyone selling seed needs to take note of the implications and cease illegal sales immediately,” he says.

Related: Passage of Bill C-18, Including UPOV ’91, Celebrated in Winnipeg

4-H Canada members and supporters celebrated the 4-H Canada Leadership Awards earlier this week, in a virtual event to recognize the contributions of youth, leaders, alumni, and champions.

The event was hosted by comedian Rick Mercer and celebrated the 4-H movement across Canada. It also highlighted the resilience of the organization’s members, volunteers, and programs throughout the pandemic, the organization says.

Four young people were awarded with the Leadership Excellence Award of Distinction: Veronika Parkinson, Matthew Sterling, Amanda McGillivray, and Morgan Hussey. These four award winners were paired with high-profile mentors: Ryan Hrelijac, founder of the Ryan’s Well Foundation; Warren Bills, a 4-H alumnus and CEO of Simplified of Convergence Growth Inc.; Senator Stanley Kutcher, psychiatrist and professor; and Elly Vandenberg, director of the Global Office Canada for the United Nations World Food Programme.

Other honourees of the night included Carol Williams, a volunteer leader; Lyle Vanclief, former Minister of Agriculture and alumnus; and Duane Bristow and Nancy Orr, who have both committed years to advancing the 4-H movement.

The Leadership Awards event is also a fundraiser, and this year over $40,000 was raised for the Canadian 4-H Foundation to ensure programming continues across Canada.

“While we couldn’t gather together this year, we were excited by the way in which the 4-H community still came together to recognize the achievements of some truly incredible 4-H youth, volunteers, alumni, and champions,” says Shannon Benner, CEO of 4-H Canada. “The support for this event is an incredible reflection of the support that exists for the 4-H mission to empower youth to become responsible, caring, and contributing leaders that effect positive change in the world around them.”

RealAgriculture’s own Shaun Haney has been named one of Canada’s Top 50 in Agriculture, in the inaugural celebration of industry leaders hosted by the Canadian Western Agribition.

Nominated in the Upstarts category, Haney is in good company, joined by the likes of Sandi Brock, Jill Harvie, and Cherilyn Nagel.

RealAgriculture’s resident agronomist, Peter Johnson, was also named to the Mentor category, for his many years of work in extension, including his weekly podcast Wheat Pete’s Word.

Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange and lead on the bi-weekly Beef Market Update, was also named to the Mentor category.

The Top 50 list began as a public campaign last November and has five categories: mentors, upstarts, innovators, deal makers, and designated hitters. The full list was announced Feb 23, 2021 on Canada’s Ag Day.

“There is no better way to celebrate Canada’s Ag Day than to recognize the diversity of people, sectors, and ideas that make
Canadian agriculture what it is today,” says Chris Lane, CEO of CWA.

See the entire list of Top 50 in Ag here. The Top 50 will be honoured during Agribition at Regina, Sask., in November.