As the voice of the province’s 997 pork farmers, and a leader in the agriculture industry, Ontario Pork strongly supports the motion put forward by MPP Matthew Rae that requests that the Government of Canada take immediate steps to eliminate the carbon tax on natural gas and propane used for agricultural purposes.
Ontario Pork has long advocated for on-farm fuels used in agricultural production to be exempt from carbon tax policies. Given that there are currently no replacements for fossil fuels in agricultural production, it has amounted to an unfair cost burden to farmers, with little or no ability to pass the cost of the carbon tax on to the consumer.
Ontario Pork is committed to sustainable growth in the pork sector, delivering government representation, research investment, and industry improvements in areas including animal care and environmental sustainability, while growing the brand and reputation of producers and their product. Ontario’s pork sector represents a significant part of the Canadian economy, combining - from “farm to fork” - $1.35 billion in GDP, over 19,906 full-time jobs and $3.78 billion in economic output.
The current carbon pricing approach is serving to add costs and lower incomes, without reducing emissions. The impacts on agriculture are already being felt by Ontario’s pork producers, with farmers reporting large increases to their fuel costs. In one case, a hog farmer in Huron County was overwhelmed to see an additional cost of 21% on the propane bill because of the carbon tax, resulting in additional costs of $0.85/hog amounting to almost $10K per year.
The carbon tax also makes the pork sector less competitive on the world market. Other jurisdictions don’t have the same hurdles that Canadian farmers do, potentially making pork products less attractive internationally as well as domestically. As exporters, pork producers are competing with countries throughout the world, and any added costs make us much less competitive.
Ontario’s pork industry is environmentally responsible as stewards of the land on which they farm, and pork producers are committed to reducing the sector’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) with continued advancements in animal and agronomic practices.
It is our sincere hope that the Government of Canada removes the carbon tax on natural gas and propane used for agriculture purposes and to support the swine and agricultural communities.
Source : Ontario Pork