Agriculture committee  These are good questions, Mr. Lemire. I don't know if Hydro‑Québec has special rates for grain drying. I know there are agreements with large industrial consumers and that there are also special rates for greenhouses. I don't have the information on the specific issue of grain drying with me today, though.

Agriculture committee  Yes. In fact, one thing that's very common on a farm is organic matter. Organic matter can be used to heat and dry grain, for example. That would be an interesting way to do it that would need to be explored in this context. I think Mr. Wright would like to round out my answer.

Agriculture committee  Thank you for the question. I want to confirm that this is indeed a fossil fuel subsidy; I want to make that clear. Removing the carbon tax as proposed in Bill C-234 will slow the arrival and implementation of sustainable alternatives because they won't be cost competitive. Consumers and farmers can have the best of intentions, but if it's just not a profitable business for them, they're not going to go with the sustainable alternatives.

Agriculture committee  I believe that the government must encourage these alternatives. To do so, it must provide financial incentives. We were talking about the price signal. We need a negative price signal for negative solutions, which in this case are fossil fuels, and a positive price signal for renewable solutions that promote energy efficiency.

Agriculture committee  Thank you for the question. This is another case where the federal government is going to have to align financial incentives with climate goals and build on innovation and the development of new technologies to ensure their timely availability for our Canadian producers and farmers.

Agriculture committee  Thank you for the question. There are opportunities in electricity and biomass, for example, but these are technologies that are in the maturation stage right now, as Mr. Wright just said.

Agriculture committee  If there was a mistake when the first bill on carbon pricing was drafted, it shouldn't be corrected by making another mistake by adding these exemptions that continue to favour fossil fuels. As I've said repeatedly, Canada is committed to ending fossil fuel subsidies by 2023. Right now, it is October 3, 2022.

Agriculture committee  Yes. I've named some, just as Mr. Wright did. The ways of heating buildings, whether agricultural or residential, are very similar. Right now, there are several mature technologies that can decarbonize building heating and cooling, such as electricity or high‑efficiency heat pumps.

Agriculture committee  One of the differences in Bill C-234, compared to Bill C-206, is the inclusion of animal housing areas. In this regard, there are solutions that already exist to get away from fossil fuels. There is an opportunity for the government to encourage those alternatives, whether it's improving the insulation and ventilation of those buildings or installing heat pumps that will make the energy system more efficient, for example.

Agriculture committee  Yes, absolutely. If I may, I'll speak in French, just to make sure I get all the nuances. If we remove this price indicator, it will be a way to favour fossil fuels. As I said in my speech, it will be a form of subsidy for fossil fuels that will make them more competitive with alternatives that are favourable to us all, that are sustainable and that will achieve Canada's climate and environmental objectives.

Agriculture committee  Yes, that’s exactly it. Our farmers have environmental values. We need to make it easier for them to make that their first choice so that they don't even have to ask. So we need to favour renewable energy, not fossil fuels, as Bill C-234 is proposing right now.

Agriculture committee  Mr. Chair, members of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, good afternoon. My name is Émile Boisseau-Bouvier and I am a climate policy analyst at Équiterre. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss Bill C‑234 with you, as I was able to do alongside my colleague on Bill C‑206.

Environment committee  Mr. Chair, I can continue if my colleague is having problems.

Environment committee  Thank you very much. I'll continue where my colleague unfortunately left off. This time, we hope we don't miss our rendezvous with history. Some changes will have to be made to ensure that's not the case. The purpose of our presentation is precisely to propose improvements to Bill C-12 to guarantee that better mechanisms are put in place to achieve our targets.

Agriculture committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Louis. Indeed, as you have pointed out, there are fossil fuel alternatives that have not yet been used on a large scale. The example you gave is a very good one. There is also the Triple Green Products company, which was mentioned a little earlier. Other sources of electricity can sometimes be used, even though, as was mentioned several times, grain drying is only seasonal.