Senate vote dooms farm carbon-tax relief bill, triggering filibuster by Poilievre Conservatives

Dec 12, 2023

OTTAWA — The Canadian Senate all but killed carbon-tax relief for farm grain-drying and barn heating during Dec. 5 deliberations in the red chamber, prompting a vow by the Poilievre Conservatives to filibuster the Trudeau government agenda unless the carbon tax is scrapped entirely.

In a tight 40-39 vote, the senators approved an amendment to Bill C-234, which stopped the original version from progressing to a third and final vote and becoming law. Instead, the now-amended private member’s bill must go back to the House of Commons for further debate where the governing minority Trudeau Liberals — who vehemently oppose the bill — will be able to keep it in limbo indefinitely. The opposition Conservatives, NDP and Bloc Quebecois — plus 3 Liberals — passed the bill, sponsored by MP Ben Lobb (CON — Huron-Bruce), last March.

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Video: Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard

On Friday, April 24, 2026, from 12 noon–1:00 ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s (PDA) Agricultural Business Development Center (ABDC), presented this webinar in the Understanding Agricultural Law Educational Series, a course designed to develop subject matter literacy and competence on fundamental issues of agricultural law for attorneys and business advisors who work with or represent agricultural or rural clients but may not necessarily specialize in agricultural law:

“Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard”

The Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, or advanced biofuels. Established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and later expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the RFS is implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This webinar provides an overview of the legal authority and structure for the RFS program and explain how it works, including the program’s system of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) and categories of renewable fuels. Additionally, this webinar addresses EPA annual volume requirement rulemaking and associated recent legal issues.