The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is pleased that Bill C-33, an Act to Amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, received Royal Assent on Jun. 26.

It will allow the federal government to regulate biofuel content in gasoline, diesel fuel and heating oil. By 2010, all gasoline sold in Canada will contain five per cent of renewable fuels, such as ethanol. By 2012, all diesel and heating oil sold in Canada to contain two per cent of renewable fuels. The bill gives the federal government the authority to regulate the blending of conventional and non-conventional fuels, and track exports to determine the volume of renewable fuels contained as a percentage of the total amount of fuel used in Canada.

“Bill C-33 represents a significant contribution to both agriculture and the environment, so it’s a win-win for the Canadian public, for farmers and for everybody involved,” said CFA President Bob Friesen.

This bill fits well with CFA’s position that renewable fuels represent an important future revenue stream for farmers—one that will also help preserve the environment. It will empower farmers by establishing their important role within Canada’s burgeoning renewable resource sector.

“It’s vital that we support domestic production and infrastructure to ensure Canadians don’t have to rely on imports of ethanol. We should instead work to build the capacity to produce it here,” said Friesen.

CFA anticipates that Bill C-33 will enable the development of new technologies to produce renewable fuel, such as: cellulose, non-food grains, agricultural waste, and biomass. “We believe we can continue to pursue science and make the industry even better and even more efficient,” said Friesen.

Carbon Tax

As of today we are all paying 2.4 cents a liter more for our fossil fuels including the gas or diesel fuel for your car or truck. The provincial government has spent a big chunk of money in ads to tell us why the carbon tax is good for us. It will force those who use our vehicles regularly to reduce our dependency on them between now and 2020, at least that is the objective.

Now this all might make sense, but the agriculture community isn’t sold on the idea.  

And while we as motorists are being asked (told) to reduce GHG emissions, Kelowna is planning to build a new data storage warehouse. It is estimated that such a facility will have GHG discharges equal to what the airline industry now produces, by 2020. That sounds like it might be GHG neutral.