Canadian farmers could wait months to find out if they'll owe thousands of dollars for carbon pricing this year as a bill exempting natural gas and propane used on farms awaits its fate. Farmer Randy Spoelstra carries a bale of hay as he works a field in Hamilton, Ont., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
OTTAWA – Canadian farmers may have to wait months to find out if they’ll owe thousands of dollars for carbon pricing this year.
Legislation designed to exempt farms from the levy on natural gas and propane remains mired in political conflict.
Kyle Larkin, the executive director of the Grain Growers of Canada, says farmers have already waited for years to see if they’ll get relief.
All parties but the Liberals voted last year on a bill to provide an eight-year exemption on natural gas and propane used for heating farm buildings and drying grain.
The Senate amended the legislation in December to limit the exemption to three years and only for propane used in grain dryers.
Conservative MP Ben Lobb wants the House of Commons to reject those amendments, a motion the Liberals plan to oppose – and the Bloc Québécois may do the same.
Debate on Lobb’s motion alone could take weeks before yet another round of debating and voting in either the Senate or the House.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2024.
