Farm Credit Canada will have its roles reviewed
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
The federal government released its Fall Economic Statement on Nov. 21 to highlight how it is taking action to support Canadians, build homes and address affordability.
The document also included mentions of items pertinent to farmers and rural Canadians.
Here’s a breakdown of those parts.
The federal government is planning a study of Crown corporations, including Farm Credit Canada, to ensure they’re delivering for Canadians.
“The government will be reviewing their roles and taking steps to increase risk appetite where appropriate,” the document says. “Next steps will be announced in Budget 2024.”
The Fall Economic Statement highlighted higher food prices.
Multiple factors contributed to increased grocery prices.
“This increase was led by higher commodity prices stemming from the impacts of climate change and the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, and was compounded by higher production costs resulting from global supply chain disruptions and global labour shortages,” the economic statement says. “With demand remaining strong, businesses have passed on these cost increases, leaving consumers to bear the full brunt of higher prices.”
To minimize the effects of climate change, the government is planning to incentivize using waste biomass to generate electricity and heat, citing crop residues as a potential source.
To do this, the government is proposing to expand the eligibility of the 30 per cent Clean Technology investment tax credit “to include systems that produce electricity, heat, or both electricity and heat from waste biomass,” the economic statement reads.
Ottawa also proposes expanding eligibility for the 15 per cent Clean Electricity tax credit for similar innovations.
To ensure Canadian goods and workers can move across the country more freely, the federal government is committed to “working to eliminate other barriers to internal trade by removing unnecessary federal exceptions in the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.”
The Fall Economic Statement also highlighted recent measures the government is taking to support rural Canadians.
This includes helping families switch to electric heat pumps and doubling the rural top-up for eligible Canadians from 10 to 20 per cent, which will go into effect in April 2024.
The payment amounts for 2024-25 will be announced in the next few months.