The President of Keystone Agricultural Producers is calling for farmers to be except from any carbon on the inputs they use to produce food.
In September the federal government announced that all provinces must have a carbon pricing system in place by the end of 2018 or it will impose such a system.
The Manitoba government invited Manitobans to have their say through an online survey as it develops a Provincial Climate and Green Plan.
Keystone Agricultural Producers President Dan Mazier says, while some jurisdiction are implementing a tax, others, most notably the United States are not so farmers in those jurisdictions where a carbon tax is implemented, especially those that rely on export markets, will be at a distinct disadvantage to those in jurisdictions that don’t impost a tax.
We’ve been pressing the government every time we have an opportunity to tell them our members concerns or farmers concerns about the impact of this. Part of the concern is a lot of people don’t know how this is going to impact primary producers so our position right now is that we are asking to be exempt for all inputs to grow a crop, like your fuel, your fertilizer, all those products would be exempt.
We’re also asking for, with the pot of money that is being built up from other industries, to be recycled back into agriculture so we can build resiliency and work with society to build a better made in Manitoba solution as far as agricultural production and stability for our economy as well.
Dan Mazier, Keystone Agricultural Producers
Mazier says the prospects of a carbon tax have significant implications for agriculture and he encourages all Manitoba farmers to participate in the survey.
