Sask. farmer's tax refund in limbo as legislation stalls

May 11, 2022

A Saskatchewan farm family is still waiting for their roughly $10,000 tax refund as a new tax credit remains stuck in legislative mud.

"It just makes the workload a little bit heavier," Gail Skavlebo said.

The Skavlebos run a 500-acre grain farm west of Shellbrook and were planning to put their refund toward inputs for this crop year, repairs and upgrades — such as roll tarps for their grain trucks so her 66-year-old husband wouldn't have to crawl up onto the box and pull the tarp shut by hand.

They filed their taxes on March 12. However, because they applied for the new Fuel Charged Proceeds to Farmers Tax Credit contained in Bill C-8, which has yet to receive royal assent, Canada Revenue Agency hasn't processed their refund. Teachers who applied for the Eligible Educator School Supply Tax Credit are in the same boat.

As of April 18, the CRA said about 70,000 returns were being held back due to either tax credit.

"Should Royal Assent be achieved, the Notices of Assessment will be issued to the impacted individuals," a CRA spokesperson said in a statement to CTV News last month.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.