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Agriculture and Agri-Food November 24th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, supply management is very important for agriculture in Canada. It is very important for our rural vitality. It is important to protect our family farms. Less than a year ago, 11,000 dairy farmers received $345 million. We will follow through on our commitment.
Agriculture and Agri-Food November 24th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, again, the supply management system is essential. It is extremely important for the vitality of our regions and our family farms. We stood up for them against Donald Trump, who wanted the system dismantled. Less than a year ago, we paid the first instalment of compensation of $345 million to our 11,000 producers and we kept going.
In fact, we also just protected the supply management system during our negotiations with the United Kingdom.
Agriculture and Agri-Food November 24th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, I can assure you that we understand the supply management system very well and that we are protecting it. We protected it from Donald Trump, who wanted to dismantle it.
In the summer of 2019, we announced $1.75 billion for dairy producers. Less than a year ago, we sent $345 million in initial compensation to 11,000 producers. We will keep our promises.
Questions on the Order Paper November 16th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, regarding part (a), according to data provided by provincial governments and industry groups, the estimated cost of carbon pollution pricing associated with grain drying increases the costs of farm operations by between 0.05% and 0.38% for an average farm.
Costs of drying grain will vary depending upon farm size, location, province, fuel used, grain type and other factors. Costs will also vary from year to year, with 2019 being wetter than usual in many provinces and, therefore, translating into higher than normal grain drying expenditures.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, AAFC, obtained estimates of the cost of drying grains, which have either been publicly released or which have been provided to AAFC by external sources, including producer organizations and provincial governments.
Each of these groups arrived at estimates of the cost of grain drying and of carbon pollution pricing associated with this activity using different underlying assumptions, which makes direct comparisons difficult. AAFC standardized the various estimates to arrive at more comparable results. For grain and oilseed farms, the average per-farm cost of carbon pollution pricing associated with grain drying was $210 in Alberta, $774 in Saskatchewan, $467 in Manitoba and $750 in Ontario.
Note that the analysis received from Alberta was based on their estimates of what the carbon pollution price would cost in the province. On June 1, 2019, Alberta repealed their own provincial carbon price fuel levy, and the federal fuel charge came into force on January 1, 2020. Therefore, Alberta farmers did not pay a federal carbon pollution price on their fuels used for grain drying during harvest in 2019.
AAFC provided further context to these estimates by relating them to information on net operating expenses. To do this, AAFC calculated the share of the cost of carbon pollution pricing associated with grain drying to overall net operating expenses for an average farm in each of the four provinces mentioned above. Net operating costs refer to all expenses, other than financing expenses and income taxes, incurred in the normal course of business, including cost of goods sold, selling and administrative expenses, and all other operating expenses. Data on net operating expenses was obtained from Statistics Canada’s agricultural taxation data program, or ATDP, which includes unincorporated and incorporated tax filer records used to estimate a range of financial agricultural variables. The financial variables disseminated by the ATDP include detailed farm revenues and expenses as well as farm and off-farm income of farm families.
Relating the estimates above to the value of net operating costs implies that the average per-farm cost of carbon pollution pricing associated with grain drying in 2019 was 0.05% of net operating costs in Alberta, 0.18% in Saskatchewan, 0.10% in Manitoba and 0.38% in Ontario.
Some variation still remains despite standardization. The estimates for Alberta and Saskatchewan are based on historical averages and, therefore, could be considered estimates for an average year in those provinces. The estimates for Manitoba and Ontario are based on 2019, a wet year, and therefore could be considered estimates for a year with higher-than-normal moisture levels.
AAFC assessed the costs of the federal carbon pollution pricing fuel charge in 2018. That assessment is publicly available at: https://multimedia.agr.gc.ca/pack/pdf/carbon_price_presentation-eng.pdf.
Regarding part (b), the above results show that the estimated costs of carbon pollution pricing to oilseed and grain farms amount to less than 0.5% of net operating expenses for 2019. This is for a hypothetical average farm. The financial impact on individual farms will depend on a myriad of factors, including the quantity of grain harvested, the type of grain produced, the share of grain drying done on farm versus at the elevator, the fuel used in grain drying, prices of fuel and the moisture level of crop at harvest, among other individual farm factors.
In addition, the agriculture sector receives significant relief under the federal carbon pollution pricing system compared to other sectors of the economy. The federal carbon pollution pricing system includes relief for farm activities that represents a significant part of the total cost of production that would otherwise impact their competitiveness. Thus, gasoline and diesel fuel used by farmers for agricultural activities is exempt from the fuel charge, and biological emissions, for example, from livestock, manure and fertilizer application, are not priced. Recognizing that greenhouse heating fuel consumption for year-round operations represents a significant cost of production, the system also provides significant relief of 80% for natural gas and propane used by commercial greenhouse operators. Natural gas and propane use for heating, for barns and grain drying, are not exempted under the federal fuel charge as it was not considered a significant cost of production for an average grain and oilseed farm.
Regarding part (c), the purpose of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by ensuring that carbon pollution pricing applies broadly throughout Canada.
All direct proceeds from the federal carbon pollution pricing system are returned to the jurisdiction of origin. In Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the majority of the direct proceeds from the federal fuel charge are returned directly to households through climate action incentive payments.
AAFC assessed the costs of the federal carbon pollution pricing fuel charge in 2018. That assessment is publicly available at https://multimedia.agr.gc.ca/pack/pdf/carbon_price_presentation-eng.pdf.
Regarding part (d), Farm Credit Canada has not conducted analysis or studies on the impact of the carbon pollution pricing on the income of farmers.
Agriculture and Agri-Food November 16th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, I can assure the member we have been working closely with our farmers since the beginning of the COVID crisis. We made sure they were eligible for all the programs meant to support businesses like the CEBA and the subsidy support. I can assure the member we will continue to make sure our farmers are well supported.
Agriculture and Agri-Food November 3rd, 2020
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that the mandatory isolation support for temporary foreign workers program has been extended, along with the Quarantine Act, until November 30, 2020. Under the program, employers will receive $1,500 per foreign worker to cover part of the costs associated with the 14-day isolation period during which the worker cannot work.
The health of farm workers is a priority for our government, and we will continue to support food producers and processors so that they can put in place the measures needed to protect essential workers.
Agriculture and Agri-Food November 3rd, 2020
Mr. Speaker, I want to assure my colleague, and the producers and grocers across Canada, that we are following the situation closely. We are looking at the different opportunities we may have, but we have to work with the provinces in this regard. I can assure members it will be a topic discussed at our federal-provincial-territorial meeting this month.
Agriculture and Agri-Food October 30th, 2020
Madam Speaker, once again I want reassure my colleague, all farmers under supply management and the processors that we still stand strongly behind our commitment to full and fair compensation for all of them.
We announced $1.75 billion for dairy farmers. The first payment was made less than 12 months ago, and we will proceed with the second compensation payment this year. We will also make an announcement around compensation for poultry and egg producers.
Agriculture and Agri-Food October 30th, 2020
Madam Speaker, I can assure the member that we recognize the importance of the agricultural sector to our economy in all its forms.
We have made it very clear that producers and processors will be a major part of our recovery plan. I can say that this tax provision for agricultural co-operatives is currently being studied.
Agriculture and Agri-Food October 30th, 2020
Madam Speaker, I can assure you that our commitment to supply-managed producers and processors remains strong.
We are committed to proceeding with the second compensation payment for dairy farmers by the end of the year. We will also be announcing the type and scale of the compensation package for poultry and egg farmers for the first two agreements with Europe and the trans-Pacific region.