In March 2024, members of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, voted by 95% to recognize that CO2 is not a pollutant and to have the Saskatchewan Party government remove the province from all national and international net zero agreements.
It is a call to remove our province from the ever-increasing regulations imposed on ag-producers since 2015. That is when this government agreed to go along with the International COP-21 Agenda by signing the Vancouver Declaration in which all Canadian provinces agreed to the national goal of reducing GHG emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
Since then, under the Prairie Resilience strategy, layers upon layers of regulation and policy have been introduced, effectively raising costs and further complicating the business of farming.
This government, inch by inch, has embedded so-called ‘sustainable’ regulations that rural and urban municipalities are obligated to follow. In my constituency of Saskatchewan Rivers, ratepayers recently held yet another meeting about land use bylaws, because they can see that this government is blind to the end game.
All around the world, we see governments trying to shut down agricultural producers to comply with the international sustainability agenda. It is clear in Canada, the federal government wants to shut down our rural way of life and is using municipal regulation to do it.
We know Saskatchewan producers are the best land and livestock stewards in the world. They have led the world in livestock and agriculture best practices for generations.
Will this government listen to the people of this province, or will it continue to act as an arm of the Trudeau government? Will Premier Moe prove he truly cares about our communities, by withdrawing Saskatchewan from all net zero agreements?