I know there are ongoing discussions. I will try to explain clearly what this is all about. A bill has been introduced at the federal level to ensure that the provinces that do not have a carbon pricing system in place are subject to the Canadian program. What we are realizing is that, in the provinces with a carbon tax, and even the federal bill provides for the same thing, the agricultural sector is exempt from the carbon tax. Therefore, there are no additional costs for fuel.
What is special about Quebec is that we are already subject to a tax. Quebec has decided to show leadership in carbon pricing, and farm businesses pay a tax through the fuels they buy.
I went a little faster over that part of our brief, but what we are calling for is a federal compensation program to ensure interprovincial fairness. Quebec grain or hog producers share the same market as other farm businesses in Canada. This tax requires substantial payments. We are therefore asking that a federal program be created.
We are also asking for support to develop and implement offset credit protocols tailored to the agricultural context. There are credit protocols in other sectors, but the agricultural sector is complex. There are very few existing protocols for the agricultural sector, and if we are subject to this pricing, there should be protocols tailored to our industry.
We also recommend approaches that encourage the participation of small companies in the carbon market. As you know, it is extremely expensive to join the carbon market system. In particular, financial audits must be carried out. For an agricultural company, this is very expensive. We are asking that farm businesses be able to form groups to participate in the carbon market.
Those are basically our recommendations for the carbon sector.