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Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine

Federal Budget misses the mark on fertilizer tariffs

Guelph, ON – March 29, 2023 – Eastern Canadian farmers represented by the Atlantic Grains Council, Grain Farmers of Ontario, Quebec Grain Farmers, Ontario Bean Growers, and Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario say the federal budget misses the mark on returning fertilizer tariffs paid by farmers.

This budget represents a huge disappointment for farmers who incurred the costs of an ineffective and ill-advised tariff. Despite warnings from the United Nations, Canada was the only G7 country to ask its farmers to pay a tariff on imported fertilizer. Farmers have been raising the issue with parliamentarians and the public about these unfair tariffs since the tariff was imposed in March 2022. While the budget mentions the impact of the invasion in Ukraine on farmers, it does not provide a mechanism to get money back directly to farmers who paid the tariff.

Today, farming has never been riskier as a family business, and we are disappointed to see our government use money taken from farmers for geopolitical purposes. We will continue to advocate for the tariffs paid by farmers to be returned to farmers.

Contact:

Roy Culberson, Atlantic Grains Council – 506-380 9663; roy.culberson@rogers.com

Victoria Berry, Manager, Communications – 226 820-6641; vberry@gfo.ca

Mathieu Santerre, Grain Farmers of Quebec – 581-996-534; medias@lorangebleue.biz

Tom Tavani, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario – 519-837-1620; tom@christianfarmers.org

Ryan Koeslag, Ontario Bean Growers & Ontario Canola Growers Association – 519-897-9088; ryan@ontariobeans.on.ca

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Grain Farmers of Ontario
Grain Farmers of Ontario is the province’s largest commodity organization, representing Ontario’s 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat farmers. The crops they grow cover over 6 million acres of farm land across the province, generate over $4.1 billion in production value, result in over $27 billion in economic output and are responsible for over 90,000 jobs in the province.