Evidence of meeting #6 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was money.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB
Well, the carbon tax is part of the supplementary estimates.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yasmin Ratansi
Go to the item and say that you are referring to item number so-and-so. That way we will note it as being relevant. How about that?
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB
There have been requests that the carbon tax be removed from grain drying and from space heating. You claim that Canadians are better off with the carbon tax's having been implemented.
Liberal
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB
Really?
No, I don't have time to take a look at it.
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB
So I can't talk about anything about carbon tax being implemented on the options.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yasmin Ratansi
The minister is here to get you to approve the supplementary estimates. If there are some line items that you have a problem with—
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yasmin Ratansi
It's not on a line item. Choose a line item. I'm just trying to accommodate you as much as I can.
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB
I guess we can't talk about the $10,000 that has been imposed through the carbon tax due to grain dryers. I can't ask the minister about families being better off by being taxed to death with a carbon tax and making their farm operations inoperable.
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yasmin Ratansi
Okay.
Mr. Mazier, the supplementary estimates have a lot of information if you want to ask the minister specific questions. Madam Collins moved it around and I asked Ms. Pauzé to move it around. You can pick one of the items that maybe has relevance to you.
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yasmin Ratansi
Yes, go ahead, because he mentioned it in his speech. That is relevant.
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB
Okay.
On zero emissions, has your department reviewed any documents with regard to farmers putting carbon back into the life cycle of agriculture?
Liberal
Jonathan Wilkinson Liberal North Vancouver, BC
Thank you. That's actually a very important question. I'm glad you asked that.
There is certainly an opportunity, in my view, to look at agriculture as a potential sink or sequestration opportunity for us as we move forward to 2050. That is something that companies and organizations across the west are looking at in terms of how to actually address this from a stewardship perspective, to actually allow farmers to monetize the value associated with increasing sequestration capacity of soils. I am very interested in that conversation. It is something that the department is working on actively.
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB
When you say “actively”, what kind of modelling are you using with that that is accurate?
There are actually lots of numbers out there that prove we're a net benefiter and that agriculture is part of the solution. We haven't seen that yet. We've just seen the increase in carbon taxes. We're paying thousands of dollars in carbon tax.
When are we going to get to the point where we can be part of the solution instead of being part of the problem?
Liberal
Jonathan Wilkinson Liberal North Vancouver, BC
I absolutely agree with you that the farming and agricultural community can be part of the solution. I actually believe there are opportunities to enhance the sequestration capacity and to allow the farming community to monetize the value associated with creating those offsets.
Conservative
Liberal
Jonathan Wilkinson Liberal North Vancouver, BC
As I say, that is something we are digging into with research institutes and companies like Terramera and others. We're looking at ensuring that you have the appropriate baselines, at the things that will actually drive additional sequestration capacity and at being able to measure that, and ultimately being able to monetize that. That is something that I think is very important.
As I think you are aware, I grew up in Saskatchewan. I worked for the premier of Saskatchewan. I'm intimately familiar with some of the issues around the agricultural sector, and I think this is an enormous opportunity.
Conservative
Liberal
