The Honourable Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, issued the following statement:

"It is outrageous that the Trudeau-appointed Senators are playing political games with farmers’ livelihoods.

"During the clause-by-clause study on Bill C-234, an Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, Trudeau-appointed Senators on the Senate Committee on Agriculture voted to gut the Bill. However, their decision will not only negatively impact farmers it will also have far-reaching implications on all Canadians.

"By amending the Bill, they intentionally removed the proposed carbon tax exemption for the heating or cooling of buildings. This amendment means that if Bill C-234 is passed, propane or natural gas used for grain drying would be exempt from the carbon tax, while propane or natural gas used for heating or cooling buildings would still be subject to the federal carbon tax.

"MP Ben Lobb’s private member’s Bill C-234 is based on a conservative common-sense approach, by giving farmers much-needed financial relief on the federal carbon tax. It is regrettable that Trudeau-appointed Senators did not stand for Canadians farmers and their families today."