CALGARY, AB: The imposition of a carbon tax on Saskatchewan and Manitoba farmers is not an April Fools Joke. As the federal government forces an unwanted carbon tax onto farmers on April 1, the federal government is reducing farmers profit margins even further.
“The carbon tax will financially hurt farmers. At a time when there is great uncertainty in the agriculture economy, this additional cost will greatly impact farm finances. The federal government wants us to grow the agriculture sector and yet the carbon tax will impede it,” stated Gunter Jochum, Manitoba Director.
The carbon tax will apply to everything that is used on farms. The transportation of grain, seed, fertilizer, fuel and shipping of parts will all have an additional cost that cannot be passed on to the end consumer, as grain is sold at world commodity rates.
We wish that the federal government dealt with the agriculture trade crisis in China, Italy, India, Peru and Vietnam as forcefully as they are pushing a carbon tax upon farmers. A carbon tax makes Canadian agriculture products uncompetitive because other farmers do not have a carbon tax.
“Farmers are leaders in environmental protection. The land is our livelihood, our inheritance and what we leave to the next generations of farmers. Over the past decades we have already taken many steps to protect the land through no-till planting, reduced fertilizer, improved crop rotation and other actions. Legitimately we cannot shoulder another expense right now and a carbon tax does not make us any more environmentally friendly. We would ask that the federal government remove the carbon tax on all agriculture expenses,” said Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel, Saskatchewan Director.
Source : Western Canadian Wheat Growers