Good afternoon.
My name is Ray Orb. I am the president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, known as SARM.
I was born and raised and live in the rural community of Cupar, northeast of Regina, which has a population of about 625 people.
I'd like to thank the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology for the opportunity to share our association's thoughts as it studies Bill C-235, an act respecting the building of a green economy in the Prairies.
Our membership is made up of Saskatchewan's rural municipal governments. SARM has been the voice of rural Saskatchewan for over 100 years. Today, I'll share the perspective of those we represent by sharing our thoughts on how the proposed bill would impact our livelihood in rural Saskatchewan.
SARM has considered the proposed legislation and does not support it. Upon review, we determined that it will not further the best interests of rural Saskatchewan.
The bill proposes that a consultation framework be built to facilitate the building of a green economy across all prairie provinces. It assumes the interests of all those residing in these provinces to be the same, and that simply isn't going to work. Issues facing rural Saskatchewan are unique to us.
Rural Saskatchewan's economic success and livelihood are a reality because of the uniquely rich and vast landscape it houses. It boasts a wealth of access to some of the most arable land for growing food and to resource-rich lands that house critical natural reserves that the world needs. This has allowed the agriculture, mining and energy sectors to flourish, sectors that could not flourish in an urban setting or, equally, in all prairie provinces. They need access to rural Saskatchewan's unique land base.
When rural Saskatchewan has a problem or requires federal or provincial collaboration, we would like to work with government directly. We don't want to be trapped in a bureaucratic framework that attempts to treat everyone the same. Some of our unique issues include making sure our key sectors aren't stifled by trade agreements, taxes and world politics, while also ensuring access to efficient rail, road and broadband and cellular infrastructure. Issues like the ones facing rural Saskatchewan are not necessarily shared by those living in Calgary, Winnipeg or even Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
In rural Saskatchewan, we are making excellent headway on our own solutions for a greener economy, and we don't require a federal framework.
Saskatchewan has some of the greenest agriculture producers in the world. Most Saskatchewan cropland is zero-till. This means that our producers use a low-disturbance direct seeding system. Not only does zero-till agriculture sink more carbon, but it also reduces soil erosion and the amount of fuel required on farms.
The Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association has been studying carbon sequestration for years. Through their research, they found that Saskatchewan producers sequester 9.64 million tonnes of new carbon dioxide every year over 28 million acres.
Our province announced its own target for renewable energy use in 2015 and set it at 50% by 2030. To help accelerate this target, SARM partnered with the First Nations Power Authority to provide a tool to help our municipalities and first nations navigate the site selection process for renewable energy projects.
As you can clearly see, rural Saskatchewan has unique issues and is already implementing unique solutions, so SARM is opposed to this bill. In essence, this new legislation would try to implement a one-size-fits-all framework that is not going to work.
In closing, on behalf of Saskatchewan's RMs and rural Saskatchewan, I thank the standing committee again for the opportunity. I look forward to continued dialogue and to the upcoming question period.
Thank you.