Government Will Listen To Farmers As It Drafts Climate Policy: Ag Minister

Jul 26, 2016

Farm groups will be consulted as the federal government works toward a national climate change strategy, Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay pledged Friday.

But the Minister — in Calgary for an annual meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts — declined to speculate when asked whether agriculture will be subject to the full weight of a potential federal carbon tax or if farmers might instead receive special exemptions or credits.

“I’m not ruling out or ruling in anything,” MacAulay told reporters. “It’s discussions that have to take place with the sectors and the governments.”

MacAulay, flanked by provincial and territorial agriculture ministers, made the remarks at a news conference wrapping up three days of meetings aimed at setting the direction for Canada’s next agricultural policy framework. The current framework, Growing Forward 2, is a $3 billion federal and provincial investment in agriculture programs and services that is set to expire in 2018.

Ministers identified a number of priorities for the new policy framework, including market access and trade, food processing, science and innovation, and public trust and confidence in agriculture. They also named climate change and the environment as a major issue that must be addressed through agriculture policy.

“Basically we have to do something on climate change, in order to address the issue, and I know that farmers are very keen and pleased to be involved,” MacAulay said.

But a national carbon tax — an idea that has been floated recently by the federal government — may not be what farmers have in mind. Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Ron Bonnett said farmers know they have to do their part on the climate change issue, especially because they are “on the front lines” as weather patterns become more severe. But he said farmers also believe their industry is unique in that practices such as no-till farming and modern fertilizer management have carbon sequestration potential.

“We know there’s going to be something put in place to deal with carbon emissions, but there has to be a recognition that we’re not just an emitter — we’re actually an industry that can put carbon back into the soil and into the plants,” Bonnett said.

Source : Albertapork

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