Archive

Monthly Message: Dufferin Board of Trade sheds light on carbon tax burden

November 21, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Doug Harkness

I submitted my last “official” column to these hallowed pages on June 2, 2016. My task then was to write an opinion piece that usually centered around politics while now it will revolve around business issues.  It’s funny the way my mind works that many times those seem to me to be the same thing.

A lot has changed in those eight years. I couldn’t find a tape for the Olivetti anywhere so I had to try one of these new-fangled word processor programs on for size.  I’m not sure what all of these blue and red lines mean under many of my words but that is what good editors are for. I do like the little word counter down on the bottom left as I type though, that will save me lots of time. 

High-speed internet remains at its glacial best here on Main Street in Mono, so while I know it isn’t as good for the environment, I may need to print and hand deliver this missive to the paper to get it in by the deadline.

Bamm-Bamm has grown to immense proportions with no end in sight.  Not that it’s any great feat but he’s been taller than me for quite some time. Pebbles, the spirited one, is growing in mind and body as well.  Snowflake still hates her column nickname so more reason to use it.  I have also given up on the annual count of gray hairs over the last 8 years as it is now a futile pursuit. I remain happy however to still have a full head of hair, regardless of their colour. The dynamics of the crack research team have changed as well with a few of the old ones regrettably having passed on. No need to worry though, some of the replacements are more than capable and I wouldn’t be here without the push from them.

It looks very much like I still ramble how I used to but there is a point to all this. Not all business issues impact everyone, and businesses and consumers aren’t always on the same side. 

One doesn’t have to be in business long in Dufferin County before you discover how large and impactful the local agricultural industry is in Dufferin. They feed our families and the more we can buy from them locally, the more we can lessen the impact of food inflation due to our worsening exchange rates.

We need to support them now though as they continue to pay a disproportionate share of the carbon pricing burden. Fuel used on farms for tractors and such are rightfully exempt from the carbon tax but the same doesn’t apply for process fuels for things like grain drying. There are no exemptions either on the fuels required to get products to market. 

Now I want to make abundantly clear that I am not a climate denier and begrudgingly admit that carbon pricing is probably the most effective way to reduce carbon emissions. There are cases though and this is one of them where there simply isn’t a proven technology that can be substituted for what makes carbon pricing extremely punitive and this is one of them. 

I know too before someone even finishes reading this, they’ll be firing off a letter enlightening us all about some new technology we’ve never heard of. Something along the lines of: “But Doug there is that new technology in Yemen, the Yemenis are working on powering their pirate ships with salt water, it can’t be more than 20 or 30 years off”.  It could also be something like, “There’s that new Swiss technology where they are powering their cars with cheese curds, the smell is a problem but once they get that sorted, look out.”

The Grain Farmers of Ontario report says that by 2030 “grain and oilseed farmers in Ontario will be paying an estimated $2.7 billion in carbon tax.”  This tax reduces their competitiveness in world markets and in a small way contributes to food inflation at home. 

If the next election is indeed going to be the “carbon tax election” (isn’t it already the 2nd or 3rd one?) then we need to stand up for our farmers both locally and across the country and make sure that they get a fair deal.

Doug Harkness is the Chair of the Dufferin Board of Trade

Readers Comments (0)