Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues from Red Deer—Mountain View and Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, who worked on this dissenting opinion with me.
Witnesses who spoke about the carbon tax said that this additional tax was going to disadvantage Canada both abroad and at home. This dissenting opinion aims to clarify the issue and make an additional recommendation to the government to ensure that Canadian exporters can increase trade without being hampered by a new tax, as well as avoid increasing the tax burden on the agriculture and agri-food sector. This tax will not encourage farmers to invest more in technological advances. Several witnesses said that the technological advances being introduced by their companies are environmentally responsible. Farmers look after their land and care about the environment because it is their livelihood. One witness even said that he already had a plan to reduce his company's environmental footprint.
The report as presented does not reflect what witnesses said about the negative impact that a carbon tax will have on the agriculture and agri-food industry. That is why our recommendation is that the government eliminate the carbon tax, which hurts Canada's international competitiveness and hinders agriculture and agri-food innovation.