Finance committee  Up to this point, no. We certainly have been willing to sit down and have a discussion about how that can be reinvested in particular in eastern Canadian farmers, who actually paid the tariff. However, we also need to keep in mind that because of this tariff increase on the cost of fertilizer, our western Canadian producers have all seen an increase in fertilizer prices as well.

Finance committee  I think it's huge, because farmers reinvest any money they can save. For example, a friend of mine retrofitted his poultry barn not that long ago, not because of the carbon tax but because he was trying to find more efficiencies. He has made his facility as efficient as possible, but the carbon tax added nearly $60,000 a year in extra costs to his operation.

Finance committee  Absolutely, and like any increase in costs, what becomes problematic for the farmers and ranchers I represent is that we are price-takers, so we cannot pass those costs on. We have to absorb them. That makes it even more problematic as costs continue to mount. We certainly aren't opposed to employees making what they need to make, but we need to find a way to balance that with the fact that we can't add on that cost and add a nickel on every product going out the door.

Finance committee  I'll start, and then I'll let Scott jump in. With any kind of initiative that the government embarks upon implementing, we on the ground want to make sure it's practically implementable. Governments around the world have set targets for climate change initiatives without talking to people on the ground to see whether they can implement those practices to reach the goals.

Finance committee  Thank you very much for the question. I'll address it from a farmer's perspective, and then I'll turn it over to Scott because he is the brains behind the organization. This is his bailiwick, so to speak. Certainly, we agree with that report on the aspect of investing in Canadian farmers and, more specifically, in technology.

Finance committee  Good afternoon and thank you, Mr. Chair. As you heard in the introductions, my name is Keith Currie. I am the first vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. Along with my colleague Scott Ross, our executive director, we represent 190,000 farm families from coast to coast to coast across Canada.

Agriculture committee  I'm sorry, but could I get you to clarify that question?

Agriculture committee  As representatives of all farmers right across this country, we don't prioritize one production standard over another. Certainly organic production is something we are very proud of in this country. I think it should be funded to the fullest where it needs to be, as should all other types of production, especially when it comes to the aspect of green energy or when we're talking about carbon sinks and all things related to climate change.

Agriculture committee  Thank you. I'll ask my colleague Frank Annau to step in here on that question.

Agriculture committee  Thanks, Mr. MacGregor. I think Mr. Carey outlined your first question very well. At the end of the day, what we're looking for is that practical applicability on the ground. We look at what governments have set as targets for the last 25 years with respect to climate change. Most have not even come close to meeting them, because they're not looking at what is practical to implement on the ground.

Agriculture committee  Certainly, we're continuing to work on a soil strategy—

Agriculture committee  I think what we're looking for is to be a partner with government on how we can go forward in whatever way that looks. If the status quo is going to remain, then that exemption would probably last in perpetuity, but we want to be that partner with all governments going forward on how we can be the people who can help practically implement programs on the ground that are going to get us to where we need to be on the climate change file.

Agriculture committee  I think Dave and Scott highlighted the main key concerns around the exemption versus the rebate. The other thing I will add is that rebates are an administrative burden on everybody, both farmers and ranchers, but also government. It's very costly to initiate a rebate type of system; whereas an exemption is simply a signature on a piece of paper by a farmer or rancher that they are a registered producer and then away we go.

Agriculture committee  Farming is what we do very well in this country. We're very efficient at it, and we're good at what we do. We take pride in not only feeding our own country but feeding people around the world, so having a reduction in fertilizer because of cost or because of an action requiring a reduction—and we prefer to talk about a reduction in emissions as opposed to a reduction in fertilizer—certainly....

Agriculture committee  Thank you. I'm Keith Currie. I'm the first vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. We represent some 200,000 farmers, ranchers and farm families nationwide. I'm joined by Frank Annau, our director of environment and science policy. We appreciate this opportunity to discuss how to continue the hard work of farmers on reducing emissions and improving soil health.