Grain dryer bill stalls in Senate

A widely supported private member’s bill that would exempt grain drying costs from federal carbon pricing might not be passed, despite gaining enough support from MPs.

The bill has moved to the Senate, but it adjourned June 29 and isn’t scheduled to return until Sept. 21.

If an election is called in the interim, as many expect, legislation not passed by the Senate effectively dies.

Bill C-206 started working its way through the House of Commons last September.

Aimed at offering financial relief from carbon pricing for farmers drying grain, the bill has received wide support from industry groups and MPs outside of the governing Liberals.

Federal agriculture minister of Marie-Claude Bibeau had been lobbied since 2019 to offer a broader exemption from carbon costs than what was already being offered to producers.

Agriculture Canada conducted an evaluation of grain-drying costs provided by some provincial governments and producer groups in 2019. It found the average annual per-farm cost of pollution pricing from grain drying cost was $210 to $774.

The federal policy doesn’t apply in provinces that have their own carbon pricing plan. The analysis was done using information from provinces subject to the federal government regulations at that time.

Bibeau had previously said carbon costs for grain drying were not having a “significant impact” on farmers’ bottom lines.

But in March, hours before a significant vote on Bill C-206, which was introduced by Conservative party MP Philip Lawrence, Bibeau and Liberal colleagues announced their minority government was committed to “new rebates.”

They argued Bill C-206 wouldn’t adequately offer the exemptions it intended to offer but promised a Liberal-created exemption that would.

This year’s budget committed the federal government to returning a greater portion of the taxes paid on natural gas and propane. It also introduced a program to assist producers in buying fuel-efficient grain dryers.