Shields makes a case for southern Alberta growers

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

  Bow River MP Martin Shields delivered a homegrown message in the House of Commons on Dec. 16. It was a tumultuous week in Ottawa as the fractures in the federal Liberal Party week were on full display, but Shields sidestepped the drama and focused on southern Alberta’s concerns about carbon tax and the policies that affect agriculture.

  He pointed to the capital gains tax, which he said was “supposedly for some kind of elite businesses, but it really does affect businesses such as family farms. It goes along with the GST tax break, which the Liberals found is not getting them any bump because it is not one that works either.”

  On the topic of family farms, he said, “The average 5,000-acre farm in Canada is paying about $150,000 every single year in carbon taxes. For an irrigation company, that multiplies at least to another $100,000. I know that my colleague will suggest other forms of energy, but natural gas and propane, and natural gas in particular, create power, and this is what is used in our part of the world.”

 Greenhouses that grow tomatoes, green peppers, lettuce and strawberries are facing huge costs, he said. At a combined $22 million a year in carbon taxes and expected to rise to $82 to $100 million by 2030, the expense is prohibitive.

  “We have 44 per cent of fresh fruit and vegetable growers already telling us that they are selling at a loss, and their statements show it. We have 77 per cent who cannot cover their production costs, and we have 77 per cent of produce growers in Canada close to going under,” he said.

  According to his sources, Alberta farmers paid $17 million in carbon tax last year just on natural gas and propane to dry their grain and to heat and cool their barns. He said Bill C-234, which would have exempted the carbon tax charged on natural gas and propane used by farmers to dry their grain and heat their barns, was “gutted” by senators.

  Shields quoted the president of the University of Alberta, Bill Flanagan, who said, “We understand energy, and we understand innovation. After more than a century of energy breakthroughs, we have learned the key to success: when you bring together the right people, you push the boundaries of innovation.”

  Flanagan said it was important to bring academia, industry, and government together to “advance the solutions that will reduce carbon dioxide emissions and diversify the economy.”

  Shields wasn’t through making his point. He said, “At the ag committee recently, CN Rail representatives were there and they were asked about the carbon tax. For Saskatchewan, CN said that the carbon tax bill was $36 million just for transporting produce out of Saskatchewan, and then we can multiply that by Alberta and Manitoba.”

  And then the kicker. “They were asked whether CN pays the carbon tax, and they said, of course not; we just download it to the farmers. This is the problem, which is that the carbon tax will be downloaded.”

  “These are not rebate operations. There is no rebate for these large farm operations. They are the ones who do a great job of…food security produced in Canada, but they are being taxed severely. This is the challenge with the carbon tax, and it needs to be stopped,” he admonished.

  Shields and his Conservative counterparts should get their opportunity to ‘axe the tax’ in 2025. If Justin Trudeau’s Liberals can hang on until next October’s general election – a big IF indeed – there’s almost no imaginable scenario in which they could rebound and maintain their grip on power. At present, polls suggest that if an election were to take place now, Conservative Pierre Poilievre would sweep it in one of the greatest landslides in Canadian political history.

  Change is not far off, and moving into 2025 it feels imminent. How soon it comes to pass is the only remaining question.

  As for Shields, he capped off his year in the House with a public acknowledgement of those back home, saying, “At this time, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all those people in my riding who have supported me over the years. I really appreciate it. It is the Christmas season, and I would like to wish all of those families, as they celebrate together and gather in communities, a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.”