Broader carbon tax exemptions for farm businesses were nixed last month as the Senate sent an amended version of Bill C-234 back to MPs for final approval.
The private member’s bill sought to amend the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to extend an exemption from the federal carbon tax to fuel consumed by heating and cooling systems for buildings “used for raising or housing livestock or for growing crops” as well as drying grain.
But the version returned to the Commons in mid-December without the exemptions, as well as a shorter sunset period for the exemption of propane and natural gas used in grain drying from eight years to three.
The amendments were driven by Liberal senators, and drew fire from Opposition politicians and farm groups who said the move would contribute to the high production costs that are fuelling higher food costs.
The bill has yet to receive royal assent, but the amendments mean farmers in BC and across the country won’t see any relief from high production costs in the near future.
In addition to input costs, interest rates are also set to remain high through mid-year, challenging growers who need to refinance loans or take on new debt.
In addition, labour costs keep rising.
January 1 saw the annual increase to piece rates for hand-harvesters, which rose 6.9% in tandem with a similar rise last June in the provincial minimum wage. While several sectors pay more than the required minimum, any lift at the bottom end of the scale increases pressure on wages up the chain.
Piece rates apply to 15 crops, primarily in the horticultural sector, which has also among the sectors hit hardest by labour shortages.
Wage increases are linked to inflation, meaning further increases will be announced this spring in advance of the next regular increase on June 1.
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