Bill C-234 is headed back to the House of Common's (HoC) for third and final reading. 

The private members bill put forward by Conservative MP Ben Lobb would exempt farm use of propane and natural gas used in grain drying and barns.

John Barlow, the Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food says the bill moved through the House Standing Committee on Agriculture last week.

"Really good news on Wednesday to have C-234 the carbon tax exemption bill get through committee with the support of the opposition parties. You know the liberals voted against us, not surprised, 
showing that they are not there to advocate for Canadian agriculture. But this is great news for farmers across the country we're another step closer to having propane and natural gas exempt from the carbon tax on farms. "

The committee amended the bill to make it clear that the exemption applies to farm use only for grain dryers and buildings used to raise animals or grow crops.

Barlow says now it goes back to the house for for another couple hours of debate, third reading and then on to the Senate. 

"So we're really confident that we'll get this done and offer some relief to farmers who are seeing crippling input costs. This just gives them another pillar to be economically sustainable."

He notes the Bill passed with the support of the opposition parties, but the five Liberals on the committee voted against it.

Earlier this week, the Agricultural  Producers Association of Saskatchewan raised concern over the rising costs of farm inputs. 

President Ian Boxall pointing out that in 2021 Saskatchewan farmers spent $2.67 billion on fertilizer purchases alone, and exceeded the previous year’s fertilizer purchases by 30 per cent.  

Since 2019, glyphosate has increased 62 per cent, fuel is up 52 per cent, and the price for urea increased 112 per cent since May 2019 while anhydrous ammonia is up 113 per cent. 

Boxall called on the HoC Standing Committee on Agriculture to look at the rising cost of farm inputs when they study retail food pricing this fall.

Barlow is Vice-Chair of the House Standing Committee on Agriculture and agrees the two are tied together.

"The NDP brought forward a motion on retail costs, on the rising price of food. We know as Conservatives that what this NDP motion doesn't include is the fact that we see record inflation on food prices, because of those input costs that the farmers are paying. The carbon tax, for example, over and over and over again. They're paying it on heating their barns, drying their grain, but also when someone's hauling their cattle or moving grain to the terminal. They're paying it every single time, and these things are driving up the cost of food and making it more difficult for farmers to stay in business. "

The Conservatives have been pushing the Liberals to expand the exemption on the carbon tax.

He says issues like the tariff on fertilizer, fertilizer emissions reductions, all of these are playing a role in farmers inability to remain economically sustainable, but also driving up food costs.