The debate rages on about carbon taxes and how it will affect farming, whether hogs, cattle, grain and or special crops.

Former Ag minister Gerry Ritz thinks we need to oppose any kind of Carbon tax at all levels of government, if we are to remain competitive with our farming production, and any other exports, especially now with the United States president Donald J. Trump not a huge fan of man-made climate change, only days away from taking power.

Here in Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says the introduction of a carbon pricing system must not derail the economic development within the province.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government recently announced the federal government will have a carbon pricing system in place in all provinces by the end of 2018. That of course happened before the U.S. election and a sharp turn of events in that country as it pertains to how to handle climate change — a carbon tax will not be part of it.

While Pallister says following his government’s speech from the throne, climate change is an issue that is going to matter to all of us and can’t be ignored, but Manitobans have endured the highest increases in taxes over the last few years under the previous administration and shares the concerns of all Manitobans that we don’t want to pay more taxes and getting less for it.

“I’m very concerned that the federal government imposing this tax on our province not impact unduly on any sector of our economy because our economy needs rebuilding,” he said. “It has declined over the last few years. We’re ninth over the last six years in terms of economic growth versus all the other provinces and that has to change. So any impact of additional tax burden the federal government might choose to impose has to be offset by revenues going back into economic activities that build our province.”

The Premier reassured all Manitobans of this fact, Manitoba will not, if the federal government proceeds as they’re proposing, be using this tax revenue as a so called tax grab and this particularly pertains to agriculture and agriculture is a key part of rebuilding and growing our economy.

Dan Mazier president of Keystone Agricultural Producers applauds Pallister’s commitment to ensure a provincial carbon pricing system will not hinder economic recovery.

While Mazier says a carbon pricing system must consider the competitive position of farmers, I don’t agree with him on that one. It will be difficult, if we don’t take a stand and this includes Manitoba’s premier too, against this federal tax grab, we will have the fed’s hand in our front pocket. Mazier says farmers have no ability to get that tax back out of the system.

“We’re price takers and it’s whatever the market is offering,” says the KAP president, a farmer near Brandon. “Manitoba exports probably 70 per cent of their products and, if we’re competing against a nation or another place that doesn’t have a carbon tax, that is an extra cost that’s being borne by our agriculture community that we couldn’t compete against so it basically makes us uncompetitive. That’s what a bad system could do.” Mazier says the Premier’s pledge to include agriculture in the discussions and to not use a carbon tax as a tax grab is especially positive.

Following that exchange, a KAP delegation met with Dori Gingera-Beauchemin, deputy minister for agriculture, and David McLaughlin, the province’s advisor for climate change introducing KAP’s new policy on carbon pricing.

According to Mazier, that policy calls for an exemption on direct emissions such as fuel and fertilizer use, because farmers will already be paying on the purchase price of these inputs as manufacturers pass the carbon price onto them. The KAP delegation stressed there would be no way for farmers to pass the price on if they were to be taxed on direct emissions.

Another part of KAP’s carbon pricing policy calls for some of the revenue from a carbon price to help producers sequester carbon and reduce emissions. As well, they called for investment into research that will help them move to zero or negative emissions. Both of these requests are also part of the carbon-pricing policy.

Well, unless someone tells me different, putting a value on carbon in the air is a bit like trying to dress a ghost, don’t you think? •

— By Harry Siemens