Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and honourable members, for the opportunity to be here with you today.
My name is Andre Harpe and I am the chair of the Grain Growers of Canada. Grain Growers is the national voice for Canada's 65,000 grain, pulse and oil seed farmers across all of Canada. I farm in the Peace region of northern Alberta. When we finish harvest this fall, we will become a century farm, which represents one hundred years of our family farming this land. We grow malt barley, and canola is our mainstay. We also rotate other crops year to year.
My father incorporated this farm in 1972, before I took over the farm from him in the 1980s. Like many other farmers my age across the country, I'm beginning to look at the future of my farm. Succession planning is a challenge; it's expensive and must be done right.
I am also the proud father of three girls, and they all love the farm. I can't say for certain just yet, but I believe they are all interested in possibly taking over this farm one day. That decision will ultimately be up to them, but I would love to keep this farm in my family for another hundred years. Beyond that, I would be happy to see our sector benefit from fresh, new ideas for farming from young women like them.
There is an old saying that many farmers are cash poor and asset rich. Although the debt owed on my assets may not jive with the word “rich”, the reality is that my farm is my retirement. The equity I've built through the years of hard work is my RRSP—it's my pension.
The structure of cash flow for a farm necessitates that you're turning profit back into the operations to pay down debt, purchase inputs and prepare for the following growing season. When I sell my farm to my daughters or somebody else, that's when I finally see the results of the years of hard work. Most business owners, farmers or otherwise, are in the same position, and we knew that going in.
I scratch my head to understand why, for even one second, I would have to consider whether or not I should sacrifice any part of my retirement in order to pass my farm on to my children. I should not have to weigh the decision between a lower quality of life in retirement due to significantly higher taxes to keep the farm in my family, and maximizing my retirement by selling it to a third party buyer. This isn't about special treatment; it's about fairness.
I've heard it mentioned that because we are incorporated, it must mean we're not a family farm. This couldn't be further from the truth. My farm is actually part of 97% of farms in Canada that are family farms. In my view, Bill C-208 would help it stay that way.
If my daughters choose to take over the farm, hopefully start families and stay on the land, it is also good for our local communities, which makes it good for Canada. The sustainability of our rural communities is vital, and levelling the playing field so that it is advantageous to sell it to a family member would help keep people on the land. It'll also help keep our schools, sports teams and communities alive.
There have been questions surrounding whether this bill would create tax loopholes that could be taken advantage of. The next panel will include many tax experts, so I will defer to them on the safeguards built into this legislation. What I know is that farmers often have to make decisions based on a risk-benefit analysis every day, just as you do in your roles. I would suggest that the risk of that being prevalent among farms as part of their succession plan, compared to the benefits for family farms in rural communities, is clear.
In closing, the Grain Growers of Canada are strongly in favour of this legislation, and we encourage parliamentarians to pass it into law in an expedited manner to ensure tax fairness for those currently deliberating this issue today. Not all farms are going to be transferred to the next generation, but for those that have the chance, Bill C-208 will go a long way to ensuring that farmers don't have to choose between keeping the farm in the family and getting the most out of retirement.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I look forward to any questions you may have.