Good morning, everyone.
My name is Alex Docherty, and with me is one of my sons, Logan. I am the president of Skye View Farms Ltd. We are a seven-generation seed potato farm in Prince Edward Island, and we're honoured to be here this morning to discuss farm issues as they pertain to our farm and all farmers across Canada. My comments today are on behalf of all of us, including my other son, Jordan, who is home on the farm.
Too often, we wonder who the federal government is really trying to help when it comes to agriculture. Today actually marks 1,085 days since the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, with a stroke of a pen, destroyed what it took our farm generations to build. To this day, we still cannot sell our high-quality seed outside of our own province, even though potato wart has never been exported from P.E.I.
Another major issue we are also facing daily as Canadian farmers is climate change, and how too many uneducated Canadians automatically blame farmers for causing it.
Our farm spent over five years being dragged through the court system by the federal government. Why, you might ask? Because a one in 740-year rain event caused disastrous flooding on our farm, resulting in fish being killed. If we had been a small town or a community that experienced this disaster, the government would have tripped over itself for photo ops and funding to say it was there to help. What happened to us? The federal government kept appealing each loss at every level in the provincial court system. Knowing what my legal fees were, I expect the federal government wasted at least $1 million of taxpayers' money.
The two most recent issues the federal government has imposed on agriculture are affecting the future of our family farm and every other one across Canada.
First, in my mind, is the carbon tax. I estimate this new tax has increased our own farm costs by approximately 20% in the last year. This is onside with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, a professor at Dalhousie University, who stated the number to be 19% on most farms. If this hidden tax were allowed to continue increasing every year, I would have to wonder what the magic number of Canadians forced to food banks and fewer farms operating would have to be for the government to recognize that things have gone way too far.
Second, and even more personal for me, is the capital gains changes on June 25 this year. This change in taxes has affected the succession of our family farm and every family farm across this country. On our own farm, had we sold after June 25, we would have paid an extra 24% in taxes, which, in turn, would mean 11% less income from the sale. This income is what most of us farmers see as our retirement. I often joke that I am on the “freedom 85 plan”, but I cannot afford to retire with returns like this.
Further to the capital gains issue, I want to note a few more situations that this increase has caused.
One, it's just another hit to the viability of family farms, the same farms who struggle with increasing costs and shortages of labour, despite the profession being something they passionately love.
Two, on P.E.I., many generational farms have decided agriculture is too much to deal with. They are now either selling their farms, dividing the land or subdividing the land, for which there is no replacement.
Three, the new Canadian entrepreneurs' incentive is not an option for us. It is only for individuals, not incorporated farms.
Four, most farms carry very large debt, yet if farmers have an asset sale, the capital gains exemption increase will do nothing to benefit the farmers, as they still pay tax on the value of the asset, which may be fully leveraged.
How would each of you feel if, last June 25, you learned that someone reached into your pension or your RRSP and took 12% of it overnight?
Ladies and gentlemen, farming is not an easy way of life, but most of us do it because we literally love what we do. Succession planning is very challenging at best. Instead of adding unnecessary stress by increasing the tax burden on our future farmers, governments should be doing everything they can to inspire our young farmers in generations after them, rather than throwing roadblocks in their way at every chance possible.
Thank you for your time today. Logan has a couple more comments.
Thank you.