WHEREAS the Climate Leadership Implementation Act effective January 1, 2017 states that every recipient shall pay a carbon tax on purchases of natural gas and propane; and
WHEREAS as purchasers, farmers cannot pass the additional cost of a carbon tax on to consumers or the international market; and
WHEREAS programs are in place through the Climate Leadership Plan to help farm operations reduce their emissions through efficiency upgrades; and
WHEREAS farmers use natural gas and propane for the production of food e.g. grain drying, irrigation, milk parlours, hog barns, chicken barns, greenhouses, etc.; and
WHEREAS farmers are exempt on marked fuel by way of the carbon levy exemption certificate; and
WHEREAS farmers create a tremendous carbon sink with their production of crops;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties appeal to the Government of Alberta to provide carbon levy exemption certificates for the use of natural gas and propane for all food production uses.
Alberta’s food producers are outstanding at feeding the population of the Province as well as contributing to the needs of the world. They are in a position of accepting what the consumer will pay for their production. They have no way of recovering extra costs such as added taxes.
Consumption of fossil fuels is a necessity for the many facets of food production in Alberta. While using these fuels to raise crops they are creating a huge carbon sink which has not been addressed in the Climate Leadership Plan.
The Government of Alberta has fortunately exempted marked fuels from the new carbon tax but the consumption of natural gas and propane for food production has been overlooked. All fuels used for food production should be exempt.
2-16F: Exemption of Municipalities from Carbon Levy
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties request the Government of Alberta to exempt all municipalities in Alberta from the carbon levy.
DEVELOPMENTS: Awaiting government response.
6-16F: Carbon Levy Exemption on Natural Gas abd Propane Used for Agricultural Operations
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties request that the Government of Alberta amend the Climate Leadership Implementation Act to exempt farming operations from the carbon levy on natural gas and propane.
DEVELOPMENTS: Awaiting government response.
Environment and Parks:
The Alberta Climate Change Office (ACCO) is working with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry (AF) and Alberta Treasury Board and Finance (TBF) to assess Resolution 1-17S. As part of this assessment, the ACCO is also exploring alternative solutions to address concerns brought forward by the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC).
The Government of Alberta passed Bill 1, An Act to Repeal the Carbon Tax and it received Royal Assent on June 4, 2019. The carbon levy no longer applies to any type of fuel including natural gas and propane as of May 2019. Therefore, this resolution is assigned a status of Accepted. RMA will re-visit this resolution when the federal Carbon Tax is announced.