A private member’s bill was introduced into the House of Commons this week, aimed at removing the carbon tax from fuels used for grain drying and heating on farms. The bill, if successfully passed, would amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which put the carbon tax into effect for provinces without a carbon pricing scheme of their own.

“I think it’s a fantastic private member’s bill that’s coming forward, and you know, the reality is I’m hearing from many of my constituents on this very issue, and the huge impact that carbon tax has had on our farmers,” said Souris-Moose Mountain Conservative MP Dr. Robert Kitchen in support of the bill, which was introduced Tuesday.

“We’re seeing costs in the tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the groups, that range up and down,” Kitchen added. “It’s a huge cost to cover to dry that grain because basically, pardon my language, it was the harvest from hell.”

Kitchen pointed to a study from the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, which was submitted to federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, that showed the carbon tax will cut net income for farmers by more than 12 percent. 

“They’ve got to dry it, and this tax is going to be a tremendous burden on them, and there’s no recognition by this present government on that part.”

Generally in the House of Commons, a private member’s bill is rarely passed. However, with the Liberal minority government, there could be a chance the opposition parties get together to pass the amendment to the carbon tax to grant the exemption.

The bill was introduced by Northumberland-Peterborough South Conservative MP Philip Lawrence. The amendment would exempt qualifying farmers from paying the carbon tax on gasoline, diesel fuel, propane and natural gas. If passed, it is expected to save tens of thousands of dollars a year for farmers.