Hon. Pat Duncan: Honourable senators, I rise to speak to the twelfth report of our Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry which amends Bill C-234, an Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act.

As we’re all very well aware, federalism must be one of the more difficult if not the most difficult form of government. We are a very large and diverse country — a country that is also, perhaps more than any other, challenged by the global crisis of climate change.

Crafting legislation, especially taxation and rebate policy, with these two challenges alone is incredibly difficult. It’s tough to have the legislation or the taxation mechanisms address the issues, change behaviour and be cognizant of all the differences that we share.

Reviewing the legislation and listening to the debate, a former member of our National Finance Committee, I needed to go back and look at the file on climate taxation. It’s not an easy file for those with PhDs in economics, whom I am not, let alone the average Canadian, whom I consider myself to be.

Having once occupied a seat with ministers of finance, as they are meeting tomorrow, and at what is now called the Council of the Federation, I can only imagine the challenging conversations that they are going to have.

The approach to climate change, taxation and climate change and rebate policy varies across the whole country.

Originally, the relief for farmers on fuel taxation was modelled after the program in British Columbia. That became evident at the committee hearings. A legislative oversight omitted the fuel used in grain drying and used largely by poultry farmers. Those are two very salient points. They prompted Bill C-234. The bill, as drafted and passed by the House of Commons, equitably addresses those two points and provides a time limit for the measure.

Honourable senators, I’d be remiss if I did not also flag that in addition to sober second thought, we represent our regions. Western Canada — where a good many of these farmers are located and where there are very specific differences in climate taxation programs that exist — is missing senators from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia.

Dear colleagues, this does not denigrate any of the individuals sitting in this chamber today. It’s recognition that there are voices that we are not hearing.

Honourable senators, I note that much focus is put on aggregate expenses and aggregate benefits, and we see numbers from analysts that are based on averages, national or provincial. It’s a very urban and centralized way of thinking about this particular issue. It’s exactly to counter such aggregation and to identify weak spots of the current carbon pricing regime that is the purpose of the bill.

It’s quite evident from what I’ve read and heard from the committee study and from speaking with farmers that there’s a gap between the desired reduction in carbon emissions through technological innovation and adjustment and what is readily available. Let’s give the farmers the time they claim they need to fix it, to be an honest and participating partner in finding climate solutions that are realistic.

Honourable senators, this bill corrects an oversight. Some farmers that this bill addresses were left out.

I was deeply moved by the tributes today to a very honourable public servant. I was also reminded of the prayer that you’ve often heard me reference in the Yukon legislature, where we pray to the Creator that we may make only sound, fair and wise decisions on behalf of the people we represent.

It’s the fairness that strikes me about this bill over and over again. It’s fair to include the farmers who were left out and to correct this oversight.

I don’t see it as a purposeful omission, and I would not reference it as a drafting error in the original bill. I recognize that Bill C-234 corrects an oversight. It’s not the first time we’ve been asked to do this. Over and over at National Finance, when we were dealing with the difficult situation of the pandemic and the benefits to reach Canadians, we corrected bills repeatedly because people were left out. First it was the artists and the artistic community.

This is a similar situation. I believe it has been somewhat usurped by events of the past week and discussions of other situations that go on in our country. We must focus our efforts on this bill itself. That’s why I believe we should not accept the recommendations that were put forward in the Agriculture Committee report, but to reject the report and allow for fulsome, thorough third reading debate that enables a fair discussion of all amendments and points of view throughout the chamber so that we can hear from everyone.

I believe we have a chance, with a full discussion of Bill C-234, to fix an oversight. It will not cause an extraordinary burden on federal coffers to enact Bill C-234. Let’s remember that natural gas and propane are the cleanest burning fuels. Will allowing this rebate and passing Bill C-234 make a tremendous difference to Canada reaching the climate change goals? I don’t think so. It will correct an oversight and be fair to all concerned.

I believe that we should adopt the bill as we received it and send a message to inform the House of Commons that it is adopted without amendment.

I will encourage all senators to hear from one another, as I understand we will — perhaps not today — be expressing our views on the Agriculture report. I encourage senators to hear what I have said in terms of fairness, to take a look. Again, by rejecting this report and adopting and having a fulsome, fair, thorough and extensive debate on Bill C-234 as we received it, we can do our best work for Canadians and for the whole country. Thank you, honourable senators.