Green Party leader Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.) claimed in the Commons Monday that climate change is pushing Canadian farmers to the brink, even driving some to suicide. Blacklock's Reporter says she did not provide a specific source for this assertion during her remarks.“We focus a lot on the carbon tax in this place without looking at the climate crisis and the real impact that has on Canadian farmers,” said May. “We really want to support the family farm. We know people living on farms are experiencing suicide because it is an extremely difficult life right now.”May argued that while there is attention on carbon pricing — such as its impact on grain drying — ignoring the broader climate crisis would miss the more significant threats to farmers. “Increased drought, aridification, floods, and disasters mean crops don’t come to fruition, and farmers don’t get money off the fields at the end of the season,” she warned. “We are missing the larger picture.”Her comments were made in response to Conservative MP Lianne Rood (Lambton-Kent, Ont.), who was speaking in support of Bill C-234, which seeks to repeal the carbon tax on most farm operations, a move estimated to save farmers $122 million annually, according to the Department of Finance.Rood argued that it was government policies and rising costs — not climate change — that were pushing farmers to their breaking point. “Fertilizer has increased by 80%. Machine fuel, by 78.5%. Machinery costs, 20%. Pesticides, 7%. Feed, 29%. Shelter for barns and sheds has increased by 13%,” she said. Rood advocated for passing Bill C-234 unamended to relieve farmers of the carbon tax burden, emphasizing, “We need to bring taxes down for farmers.”May has repeatedly warned of climate catastrophe, previously stating, “We are facing something as dire as the loss of civilization.” However, the Commons was not presented with peer-reviewed research linking climate change to farmer suicides. The 2022 Mental Health Commission Agriculture And Suicide Fact Sheet did not mention climate change as a contributing factor. Similarly, a 2010 Canadian Mental Health Association report identified nurses and therapists — not farmers — as professions with elevated suicide rates.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.) claimed in the Commons Monday that climate change is pushing Canadian farmers to the brink, even driving some to suicide. Blacklock's Reporter says she did not provide a specific source for this assertion during her remarks.“We focus a lot on the carbon tax in this place without looking at the climate crisis and the real impact that has on Canadian farmers,” said May. “We really want to support the family farm. We know people living on farms are experiencing suicide because it is an extremely difficult life right now.”May argued that while there is attention on carbon pricing — such as its impact on grain drying — ignoring the broader climate crisis would miss the more significant threats to farmers. “Increased drought, aridification, floods, and disasters mean crops don’t come to fruition, and farmers don’t get money off the fields at the end of the season,” she warned. “We are missing the larger picture.”Her comments were made in response to Conservative MP Lianne Rood (Lambton-Kent, Ont.), who was speaking in support of Bill C-234, which seeks to repeal the carbon tax on most farm operations, a move estimated to save farmers $122 million annually, according to the Department of Finance.Rood argued that it was government policies and rising costs — not climate change — that were pushing farmers to their breaking point. “Fertilizer has increased by 80%. Machine fuel, by 78.5%. Machinery costs, 20%. Pesticides, 7%. Feed, 29%. Shelter for barns and sheds has increased by 13%,” she said. Rood advocated for passing Bill C-234 unamended to relieve farmers of the carbon tax burden, emphasizing, “We need to bring taxes down for farmers.”May has repeatedly warned of climate catastrophe, previously stating, “We are facing something as dire as the loss of civilization.” However, the Commons was not presented with peer-reviewed research linking climate change to farmer suicides. The 2022 Mental Health Commission Agriculture And Suicide Fact Sheet did not mention climate change as a contributing factor. Similarly, a 2010 Canadian Mental Health Association report identified nurses and therapists — not farmers — as professions with elevated suicide rates.
