Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
It's great to hear some of these stories about the innovation and the stewardship that our farmers have been doing. Our farmers and ranchers are some of the most environmentally conscious people in the country. I don't think any of us would argue that point. They live on the land. It's their livelihood.
That touches on something that is very important as part of this discussion: the fact that our farmers and ranchers have been doing this for generations. They've been embracing technology, embracing innovation, and ensuring they do everything possible to protect their land and ensure it is productive.
During a previous study, we had a witness in here who had a greenhouse in B.C., and the carbon tax was costing her $50,000 a year, so she closed her greenhouse.
With Alberta now having the carbon tax, I have farmers and ranchers in my constituency who it is costing anywhere from between $50,000 and $125,000 a year in additional costs. So, there are concerns that our farmers, ranchers, and greenhouse producers and operators have been doing all of these things to ensure that they have as small a carbon footprint as they can before this was even an in-vogue discussion to have, and yet they are being punished for doing everything right.
As we talk about climate change, I agree with my colleague, Mr. Drouin, that today is not the place to have a debate on whether it's true or not, but I do want to say, Mr. Drouin, that we should all have your farmers who can predict the weather. It's impressive that they've been able to predict the weather before now.