A motion introduced yesterday into the Saskatchewan legislature was geared at sending a clear message to Ottawa about Saskatchewan’s opposition to the national carbon tax.

Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart says the national carbon tax would add substantial costs for Saskatchewan’s producers.

"A smallish farm of 2,500 acres would be $10,000, now it might be more, some estimates have gone between $4 and $6 an acre," he said.

"That is on the low side, is $10,000 it could be $12,000 for a farm that size. If you double that, you get into an average commercial sized farm around 5,000acres. Then it is $20,000-$30,000 per year."

Stewart added the tax will have a devastating effect on the ag sector and the economy as a whole.

"We have said that we would introduce when our economy was stronger, some more reasonable level of carbon levy on major emitters and all of that fund would go into new technology like what we have built at the Boundary Dam 3," he said.

"We think that is an approach that could actually solve the problem. Taxing it, does not."

Premier Brad Wall released Saskatchewan’s White Paper on Climate Change last week.

In the paper, it shows Saskatchewan’s agricultural greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and crop production were estimated at 12.7 million tonnes in 2014 or 16.8 % of Saskatchewan’s total.

On the other hand, agricultural soils absorbed nearly 11.4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2014 making Agriculture in Saskatchewan close to being carbon neutral.