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Posted: February 02, 2007
Saskatchewan Canola Producers Bring Biodiesel
to Parliament Hill
On the first two days of the new session of
Parliament this week, members of the Saskatchewan Canola Development
Commission (SCDC) met with Saskatchewan MPs to ask for their support
in creating a tax environment to help build a Canadian biodiesel
industry.
"The biodiesel industry in Canada needs
tax parity with the United States if it's going to get off the
ground," said SCDC Chair Jim Caughlin.
Caughlin, who farms at Tisdale, was in Ottawa
with SCDC Directors Tim Wiens from Herschel and John Serhienko
from Blaine Lake to discuss with MPs the environmental and economic
benefits of biodiesel and the need for tax parity with the U.S.
"We do not want to export raw canola seed
to the U.S. and import biodiesel back," says Wiens. "Parity
with the 30 cents per litre refundable tax credit that U.S. bio-diesel
receives is the only way that the value added biodiesel facilities
will be built in Canada."
"We were pleasantly surprised to see the
MPs were knowledgeable about the industry and what needs to be
done," said Serhienko. "Our colleagues from Alberta
and Manitoba who were also visiting their MPs had similar observations".
Ethanol and biodiesel producers and users in
the United States, Europe and many other countries have special
tax measures in place to encourage both the production and blending
of these fuels. This means the return on investment for producing
biodiesel is higher in these countries than it is in Canada.
Domestic biodiesel production would mean better
and more stable prices for canola growers at farm gate as well
as the opportunity to invest in a new industry. Canada's governments
must provide tax parity with the 30 cents per litre tax credit
in the U.S. in the short term if Canada hopes to attract any significant
canola biodiesel production investments.
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