One single senator is blocking Bill C-234 from passing in the Canadian Senate, Pierre Dalphond, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF). Bill C-234, introduced in February 2022 by Ontario MP Ben Lobb, amends the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to remove the federal carbon tax on natural gas and propane for farmers. The bill would exempt natural gas and propane used on farms from the carbon tax for processes such as irrigation, on-site grain drying, feed preparation and heating and cooling of barns and greenhouses. It would also make food prices more affordable in general for Canadians. Dalphond, who makes $170,000 annually, is one of 105 unelected individuals to represent the upper house of parliament. Senators are appointed by the Governor General on advice from the prime minister. The bill passed in the House of Commons and moved onto the Senate, where it was quashed Wednesday afternoon, said Franco Terrazzano, director of CTF. Members from the Conservative Party, NDP, Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party voted in favour of C-234, which passed 176-146. Three Liberals voted in favour of the bill as well. Terrazzano posted a video to Twitter ("X") from outside the Senate “where the Senators, unelected, are stalling a bill to make your life more affordable,” he said. “Actually it’s one Senator in particular, Senator Pierre Dalphond, that is keeping your eggs, your bread and your milk more expensive.” “The House of Commons has already passed a bill twice to remove the carbon tax from farm fuels like natural gas and propane. Farmers use those fuels to keep their barns warm and dry their grain. And the carbon tax makes it more expensive for farmers to produce the food and for you to buy the food,” Terrazzano said. “And now Senator Pierre Dalphond is stalling the bills. He added an amendment to water down the relief and to stall the passage of this bill.”“Well here's the thing, maybe the unelected Senator Pierre Dalphond, with his $170,000 annual salary, can afford to wait, but many Canadians cannot afford to wait. We need relief now,” he said. “Let’s email the unelected Senator Pierre Dalphond and tell him to stop stalling the bill, to stop watering it down and to stop making your groceries more expensive.”
