WATCH: Liberal MP says farmers should be grateful for clean tech spending, even as carbon tax set to increase

Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen (Kingston and the Islands, ON) said while there is a carbon tax, the Canadian government has been spending money on clean technology for farmers. “I’m wondering in the interest of axing everything, would he [Eric Duncan] comment on whether or not the Conservative government would axe this clean tech funding and this $6.8 million to his riding?” said Gerretsen in a Monday speech in the House of Commons. .While Gerretsen applauded the $6.8 million in clean technology funding, Duncan said farmers are paying millions of dollars in carbon taxes and can expect them to quadruple. “They are getting tax increases like they’ve never seen before,” said Duncan. “A billion dollars is what Canadian farmers are going to pay in the coming years.” With the Conservatives, he acknowledged it has a common sense solution. This solution is to get red tape on green technology out of the way. Numerous hydroelectricity projects in Quebec have been stalled because of Canadian government red tape. Rather than help these projects, Duncan pointed out its solution is to “jack up your taxes and carbon tax and try to cut a cheque for some of it back.” On this issue, he said the Canadian government has failed. This is because its policies are not working.“And again, I just encourage the member come visit a farmer in Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, and he’s going to get an earful about the Liberal record on everything,” he said. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) called on the Senate in September to pass a bill expanding carbon tax exemptions for farmers. READ MORE: Farmers would save almost $1billion with proposed carbon tax exemptionThis request came in response to analysis released by the Parliamentary Budget Officer indicating such an expansion would result in almost $1 billion in savings for farmers by 2030.“Making it more affordable for farmers to produce food will make it more affordable for families to buy food,” said CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano.