New Brunswick farmers seem to be getting hit from all sides these days with proposed tax changes, increased fees and regulatory changes.
Producers fear their profit margins are already small and these added burdens may force some out of business.
Bathurst-area farmer Mike Bouma, president of the provincial agricultural alliance, says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is proposing new fees to ensure food quality.
“Unfortunately, they have been running a deficit and now they want to dump the cost of that on the back of farmers. So we will be paying that both as farmers and as taxpayers,” he notes.
With a carbon tax on the horizon, Bouma says farmers will be at a competitive disadvantage internationally since the United States has no intentions of curbing carbon production or introducing a tax.
He says these added costs will filter down to the retailer and ultimately consumers will end up paying more for food.
Despite voicing concerns to the provincial and federal governments, Bouma adds elected officials don’t seem to be listening.
