Thank you, Mr. Chair.
On behalf of the National Cattle Feeders' Association, thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee on Bill C-234.
The National Cattle Feeders' Association is the voice of Canada's cattle feeders. We work to improve the growth, sustainability and competitiveness of the beef sector in Canada so as to provide a safe, high-quality and accessible beef supply to Canadians.
My name is James Bekkering. l am the current board chair of the National Cattle Feeders' Association. I also own and operate a cattle feedlot in Taber, Alberta. My feedlot includes a feed mill where I steam flake grains for cattle.
Cattle feeders are a critical part of the beef value chain. As a feedlot owner, I receive cattle from cow-calf operations when the animals are between 400 and 800 pounds, and then feed the cattle a high-energy diet to promote weight gain. When the cattle reach a weight of 1,300 to 1,600 pounds, they are sent for processing.
Canada's cattle feeders are global leaders in sustainability, producing more pounds of beef using less land and less water and emitting fewer GHGs. Environmental stewardship is a critical component of the beef industry's sustainability.
Canadian farmers compete globally and require governments to maintain a business environment that fosters success. Canada's regulatory policy and taxation requirements must track alongside those of our international competitors. As such, the NCFA has followed Bill C-234 with interest and strong support.
The NCFA encourages the government and the opposition to expedite the passage of Bill C-234, given the importance of this bill to Canada's agriculture industry. The agriculture sector is currently facing unprecedented challenges driven by supply chain barriers and rapidly escalating inflation, affecting energy and input costs.
The financial relief that the passage of Bill C-234 would provide is of the utmost importance to the beef sector and to the entire agriculture sector. Today's modern cattle-feeding operation uses more than motive fuel, such as gasoline and diesel, both of which are currently exempt from carbon pricing when used on farm. Of equal importance are fuels not currently exempted, such as natural gas and propane.
Bill C-234 would extend the exemption to include on-farm use of these fuels, which are required for day-to-day farming activity, including the heating of processing barns, medical care buildings and equipment shops. These fuels are also used for irrigation and to prepare and process cattle feed, such as steam flaking feed corn, wheat and barley.
Currently there are no viable alternative energy options for farmers to operate these essential elements of their farming activity. In fact, the processing of grains through these methods, such as steam flaking, can create feed efficiencies that in turn deliver environmental benefits. Taxing farmers on these methods of delivering feed efficiency will serve to discourage investment in new technologies—the opposite of where we should be going.
The exemption proposed within Bill C-234 addresses what we consider was a simple but significant oversight when the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act was put in place. The act always should have included on-farm use of natural gas and propane as it did diesel and gasoline.
The passing of Bill C-234 will ensure that dollars remain with our Canadian farmers to make innovative investments in their operations. This is not a time we want to be pulling away capital from our Canadian farmers due to legislation that was originally misguided on the use of fuels on farms.
With food prices skyrocketing, we need to return to the farm gate to look for solutions on how to address costs to farmers and thus costs to consumers. The passing of Bill C-234 will signal an important step in that process.
Farmers and ranchers are stewards of their land, adopting the best environmental practices whenever possible. However, to be able to continue to invest in innovations, they need to remain competitive and have the available working capital to do so.
I understand there has also been extensive discussion at the committee table on a sunset clause to the exemption. This supports a mutual goal that we all share toward moving to more renewable and clean energy. However, we ask that any sunset clause contain flexibility for an extension in the case that no viable alternatives are available at the end of the sunset time frame.
Once again, thank you for the opportunity to appear today to contribute to the committee's deliberations on Bill C-234. We look forward to seeing this bill move forward through the remainder of the process.
Thank you.