The Senate Scores A Win

In an unprecedented move that reintroduced an amendment preventing Bill C-234 from passing this week, the Canadian Senate has blocked a carve-out from the carbon tax for commodity agriculture.

Earlier this week - in a 1-vote win - Canada’s upper government proved its worth as ‘a chamber for sober second thought’ by sending Bill C-234 back to the House of Commons, where a vote can be delayed until it dies on the order paper when the next federal election is called. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s analysis, Bill C-234 would have exempted upwards of a billion dollars in carbon tax payments over the coming years.

‘Carve-outs’ have been in the news here lately, in part because they are frowned upon in environmental economics. Carbon tax exemptions for certain sub-sectors suggests governments are less-than-fully committed to achieving greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets.

This topic is shrouded in the complexity of inflation right now, and the confusion of politics. It feels like opposing factions have never been further apart, and that the media has never been as influenced by industry, as is the case today.

There are multiple polarizing viewpoints at work, all inter-linked and with similar messaging across like-minded factions:

• Environmental vs. agricultural,

• Eastern vs. western Canadian politics, and

• Climate change adaptation vs. denial.

Let’s unpack each of these dichotomies to better understand what’s actually happening back on the farm.