When it comes to agriculture and the environment, some people see agriculture as a solution, while others see it as a problem. And in politics, people with different perspectives and levels of awareness about agriculture often sit in the same caucuses and cabinets, influencing party positions on environmental policies that affect agriculture.
For the past nine years, Canada’s current Liberal government has focused on reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions using a combination of carrots and sticks. The Farm Climate Action Fund is an example of a carrot, or incentive-based approach, and the carbon tax, which applies to propane and natural gas used on farms in most states, could be described as a “stick.”
What will these sustainability and environmental policies look like at the farm level in the future? What challenges do politicians face when designing effective agricultural policies? Overall sustainability What is the role of governments in recognizing the solutions that agriculture can offer while improving climate change and moving towards climate goals?
This episode is Connecting AG policies We explore these questions as we bring together three MPs from across Ottawa’s polarized political spectrum and the vast geography of Canadian agriculture. All three panelists are members of the House of Commons Agriculture Committee and are considered agricultural voices within the Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic Party caucuses, respectively.
– Cody Blois, Chairman of the House of Commons Agriculture and Agri-Food Standing Committee and Liberal MP from Kings Hants, Nova Scotia.
– John Barlow, Conservative Shadow Minister of Agriculture and Member of Foothills, Alberta.and
– Alistair MacGregor, New Democratic Party agriculture critic and Cowichan-Malahat Langford MP for Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
One of my guests asked if this was a ploy to get us to share a platform ahead of the next federal election, but I’ll leave that up to you, listeners, to decide.
Check out the video below or listen on your podcast app. From the Canadian Agriculture and Food Policy Institute (CAPI) and RealAgriculture, explore the future of sustainability policy affecting farms from a federal political perspective on Agricultural Policy Connections.
Editor’s note: This episode was recorded on April 29, 2024, in advance of the release of the Auditor General’s report on Canada’s Agriculture and Agri-Food Climate Program.
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