Sask. senator discusses amendment of Bill C-234 with Evan Bray

There’s no answer yet as to what the future of Bill C-234 looks like for farmers in Saskatchewan.

On Tuesday night, the Senate voted 40-39 in favour of an amendment to the legislation that would’ve exempted farmers from paying the carbon tax on propane and natural gas. The fossil fuels are used to cool or heat barns and for drying grain.

Brent Cotter, a senator from Saskatchewan and a member of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, told The Evan Bray Show on Thursday that he’s disappointed with where the bill stands.

Cotter, who was involved in the debate about Bill C-234, said he supports the original bill, which would provide a modest benefit for farmers, particularly for grain drying and heating for farm buildings.

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Cotter’s speech during the debate explained there needs to be more ways to make accommodations for different industries such as agriculture.

When speaking with the agriculture committee and the Senate, he explained the bill should just be about farmers, especially for smaller farmers who are vulnerable with respect to the application of the tax.

“The real central question (is) ‘Could this bill help farmers out a little bit in their pocketbooks over the next eight years?’ ” Cotter told Bray, noting he doesn’t think the bill will play a role in grocery store prices but rather on farmers’ bottom lines.

Most agricultural producers are price takers in the market, he explained, meaning they can’t automatically increase the price of their product to compensate for extra costs they face.

“The grain companies are going to tell you what you’re going to get for your grain, you don’t tell them,” Cotter said. “As a result, (the farmers) have to absorb extra costs.”

Cotter said the future of agriculture plays an important role in the future of the country.

“Lots of other policies align with that, and I thought this one could have as well,” he said.