The rebate for farmers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, the provinces where Ottawa administers the carbon tax, was included in the fall economic statement in mid-December but not widely publicized.
GGC executive director Erin Gowriluk said the association is pleased Ottawa recognized the problem, but the program formula is “a fairly blunt instrument” that offers no opportunity for customization.
“There’s going to be a significant amount of inequity in the way in which these rebates are distributed,” she said in an interview with the Western Producer newspaper.
Some of the GGC directors ran preliminary numbers and will get between 20 and 30 percent of their total carbon tax back.
“Some will definitely get more and others will get less depending on how the formula relates to their individual operation,” Gowriluk said.
“It will depend on commodity. It will depend on where in the country they live, how dependent they may be on grain drying. The rebate for a corn farmer in Ontario will look very different than that of a grain farmer on the Prairies.”
For this year, the payment rates have been set at $1.47 per $1,000 in eligible expenses. In 2022, that rises to $1.73.
Eligible farming expenses are defined as the “amounts deducted in computing income from farming for tax purposes, excluding any deductions arising from mandatory and optional inventory adjustments and transactions with non-arm’s length parties.”
