Thank you very much.
As you recall, Mr. Chair, I moved this motion.
First, I want to apologize to my Bloc colleagues for the French version of this motion. It was written in French at the last meeting. I hope that this version is a bit better and therefore more acceptable.
Mr. Chair, as you know, we did a pretty comprehensive study on input costs. We also know there is some discussion about the possibility of the introduction of a carbon tax. From what I gather from speaking with agricultural people both in eastern Canada and certainly in Ontario, and from speaking with some of my colleagues as well, I know the agricultural community has some concerns about what a proposed carbon tax would do to their input costs. In the last day or two, I've read that there might be some consideration given to exempting certain areas from the carbon tax.
I would like to move that the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food urge the Government of Canada to ensure that Canadian farmers are not saddled with a carbon tax that would further increase their input costs and hurt their competitiveness vis-à-vis their American competitors.
The reason I think this is so critical is that if this is in fact in the proposal stage, we could have a tremendous impact on the eventual final product. It's critical to the agricultural industry that we have our input into that process. Our producers and agriculture, as you know, have enough challenges as it is without extra input costs.
So I would strongly recommend that we approve this motion.