Cam Dahl, the General Manager of Manitoba Pork, said the passage of Bill C-234 will help restore the ability of Canada’s pork producers to compete on the international market.
Bill C-234, a private member’s bill that will create specific exemptions for farmers to Canada’s carbon pricing scheme, has passed in the House of Commons and waits approval by the Senate.
Dahl said Canadian pork producers export 90 percent of the pork they produce and compete against producers in other parts of the world that don’t have a carbon tax. Feed costs are near record prices caused by drought, for example, in the great plains, with U.S. farmers abandoning record levels of winter wheat.
Those conditions and the war in Ukraine taking feed supplies out of the market are driving up the feed prices. Then there’s uncertainty about what’s happening in China, the world’s largest consumer and pork producer, regarding African Swine Fever and the impact of ASF worldwide.
“It’s an uncertain period in the market, and we’re facing record-level input prices with hog prices falling faster than the price of feed, and we’re seeing the impact of that right now on the bottom line for producers,” said Dahl.
He said the carbon tax adds significant costs, making Canadian farmers less competitive on the international market and helping drive up the cost of food for consumers.
“I encourage everyone to contact their Senators and encourage them to pass this bill as quickly as possible.”
Canadian Pork Council executive director Stephen Heckbert said the environmental record of Canada’s pork sector is something to be proud of, and senators should consider this as Bill C-234 moves through the Senate.
Bill C-234 seeks to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to extend the exemption for qualifying farming fuel to marketable natural gas and propane, exempting farmers from the carbon tax on natural gas used for heating barns and drying grain.
Heckbert said pork producers have a great story to tell in terms of the environmental impact of Canada’s pork sector.
“You’re not going to mitigate environmental impact just by making things more expensive,” he said.
Instead, the focus should be on ensuring help and reward, particularly farmers, who significantly mitigate their environmental impact. It’s so vital for the government to look at the whole suite of environment. Carbon is only one part of the issue.
“Water usage is another part of the issue, ensuring proper land usage and ensuring we’re protecting farms,” said Heckbert. “From that perspective, it’s vital that we do what we can, as C-234 will mitigate some of the impacts of the carbon tax.”
The CPC executive director said the government needs to develop a policy examining the industry’s overall environmental impact and ensuring Canadians understand the actual ecological cost.
“One of the stories we’re going to try and tell a little bit better in the future is just how progressive pork producers of Canada have been on the environmental file,” said Heckbert.
Farmers need to take pride in their environmental stewardship and how they treat the land instead of being on the defensive.
“We have a great story regarding the environmental impact of Canada’s pork industry, and we need to work harder at telling that story.”
Heckbert urged the Senate to move Bill C-234 forward as quickly as possible. •
— By Harry Siemens