Dutch farmer protests and what's happening in Canada, explained
The ongoing protests in the Netherlands, by farmers opposed to their government’s plan to slash nitrogen oxide emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, have drawn attention to Canadian farmers’ concerns over an emissions reduction target set by the Canadian government.
Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced last year the Liberals want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with fertilizers by 30 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030.
Some farmers and members of the agriculture industry say it’s extremely difficult to reduce emissions beyond current levels without cutting inputs, because Canadian farmers are already highly efficient and judicious with their fertilizer use.
They say less fertilizer use could also lead to less product output, depending on the method farmers use to reduce their inputs. This, at a time when there is already added pressure on Canadian producers to fill gaps in the grain market caused by the war in Ukraine.
But the Canadian government is adamant the goal is to cut emissions, not fertilizer use, and it’s in consultations with stakeholders until the end of August to discuss how to hit the target. And scientists say hitting the government’s target — without slashing fertilizer use — is entirely possible.
“Our estimates are that this is feasible,” said Claudia Wagner Riddle, a professor at the University of Guelph’s School of Environmental Sciences.
Farmers in the Netherlands have been lining the streets with tractors and other equipment, dumping manure, tires and garbage on the roads, and burning hay bales nearby, for weeks to protest against their government’s plan to cut nitrogen emissions in the agriculture industry in half by 2030. The farmers say that could cost them their farms and their livelihoods.
In Canada, protesters in solidarity with Dutch farmers held “slow roll” demonstrations in cities across the country on July 23, including in many parts of the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Vancouver. Hundreds of people took part in about a dozen protests, lining up trucks and tractors, brandishing signs that read “freedom,” “stand with farmers,” and “world leaders agenda = starvation,” while waving Dutch and Canadian flags.
Many of those protests were spearheaded by Freedom Fighters Canada, a group that was heavily involved with the trucker convoy protest in Ottawa in February, with members and organizers leading marches during that time.
Several protesters in Canada drew parallels between the policies set out by the Dutch government and Ottawa’s emissions-reduction target of 30 per cent. Protesters say they’re worried Canadian farmers could also lose their livelihoods and end up holding mass protests like their European counterparts.
Protesters in Saskatchewan told CTV Regina they wanted to send the message to the Canadian government that implementing similar policies here is unacceptable.
But the policies set out by the Dutch government and the Canadian government are fundamentally different.
While the Dutch government’s target is to reduce emissions from the agriculture industry overall by 50 per cent by 2030, the Canadian government is aiming for a 30 per cent reduction in emissions from fertilizer specifically, also by 2030.
Not only are the targets different, so are the two governments’ plans to achieve their goals.
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE NETHERLANDS
In the Netherlands, the goal is to make what the government’s calling an “unavoidable transition” in its agriculture industry, and move toward circular agriculture by 2030, which will ultimately involve using minimal external inputs and closing nutrient loops, among other practices. The intent is to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers, and lessen the agriculture industry’s environmental impact.
The Dutch government’s plan also includes a target to halve agriculture industry emissions from nitrogen oxide and ammonia overall, from greenhouse gases to groundwater leeching, methane, and other waste from livestock.
The main generators of excess nitrogen in Dutch agriculture are livestock farmers, so the government’s targets will hit them hardest, explained Alfons Weersink, a faculty member in the department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph.
Many farmers there say they could be forced to reduce or sell off their livestock to reach the government’s goals.
“It’s very immediate, this is happening now, and that can explain the level of protests, that livelihoods are being threatened, and people are willing to take to the streets to protect their livelihoods,” Weersink told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview Aug. 4.
But the reduction targets are not equally applied across the board. Some areas need to make bigger cuts, in some places reducing emissions by more than 75 per cent, and when the Dutch government released maps indicating which regions had to make reductions by what percentage, in many cases farmers said the only way to hit the targets is by downsizing or shutting down completely.
According to the Dutch government, farmers have three options: adapt, relocate, or shut down.
“It’s a hard target, and they’re going to enforce these through reductions in largely livestock inventory,” Weersink said.
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CANADA
Here in Canada, it’s crop producers who are concerned.
“There's not much room for farmers to go before they start losing productivity and before their yields are affected, because of course you need fertilizer to maximize your yields,” said Karen Proud, the head of Fertilizer Canada, which represents manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of fertilizer products, in an interview with CTVNews.ca last month.
But Weersink said it is “not a one-to-one relationship,” and “there are a number of means of reducing emissions without cutting back on fertilizer use significantly.”
Proud said the biggest concern is that the Canadian government set the 30 per cent target for emissions reduction without consultation with industry experts and stakeholders, but those consultations are now underway and Proud said she’s “cautiously optimistic” the federal government is listening to industry.
Cameron Newbigging, a spokesperson for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca on July 29 that the government’s target of 30 per cent “was established based on available scientific research and internal analysis,” taking into consideration ways to optimize fertilizer use while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
While the Canadian government is in consultations with stakeholders, the Dutch government has given provincial authorities a year to figure out how they’ll make the mandatory cuts.
“[In Canada] it’s voluntary, and there are incentives for [farmers] to adopt these practices, so there are carrots that are being used, in contrast to the Netherlands, where it’s stick, it’s like ‘you have to do this’,” Weersink said.
Kenton Possberg, who farms northeast of Humboldt, Sask., and is a director with the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, said he’s “frustrated,” and “struggling to understand” the government’s “pretty aggressive strategy.”
“We're trying to maximize output and we are just barely keeping up with what the world requires on an annual basis,” he told CTVNews.ca last month. “It seems like the climate crisis is trumping the food crisis that we were discussing last decade, and just wondering which direction we're going to be going next.”
Possberg said he doubts that the situation in Canada will escalate to producers holding mass protests like those in the Netherlands.
“But the farming sector in general is just tired of being vilified as the enemy,” he said. “We’re an easy target. But, but why aren't we a partner, instead of the enemy? Instead of ‘you do this, you do that’, the conversation should be ‘how are we going to come together and develop something?’”
Proud said the Canadian and Dutch contexts are very different at this stage, largely because while Canadian producers do take targets set by the government very seriously, they’re not currently mandatory, and the government is still in talks with industry experts.
“My hope, and I am cautiously optimistic at this stage, is that we will see the government sort of revising its position on some aspects of this path,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with putting out ambitious targets … I think the real problem is that these targets get out there without the proper analysis as to how you would achieve it and what the impact would be.”
Some premiers, including Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, have been very outspoken against the government’s emissions reduction target.
Conservative agriculture critic John Barlow said reducing emissions and reducing fertilizer use are one and the same, and he doesn’t believe farmers can do one without the other.
With files from The Associated Press
IN DEPTH
Trudeau, key election players to testify at foreign interference hearings. What you need to know
The public hearings portion of the federal inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian elections and democratic institutions are picking back up this week. Here's what you need to know.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
TREND LINE What Nanos' tracking tells us about Canadians' mood, party preference heading into 2024
Heading into a new year, Canadians aren't feeling overly optimistic about the direction the country is heading, with the number of voters indicating negative views about the federal government's performance at the highest in a decade, national tracking from Nanos Research shows.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
opinion Don Martin: Pierre Poilievre's road to apparent victory will soon start to get rougher
Pierre Poilievre and his Conservatives appear to be on cruise control to a rendezvous with the leader's prime ministerial ambition, but in his latest column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin questions whether the Conservative leader may be peaking too soon.
opinion Don Martin: The Trudeau lessons from Brian Mulroney's legacy start with walking away
Justin Trudeau should pay very close attention to the legacy treatment afforded former prime minister Brian Mulroney, who died on Thursday at age 84, writes columnist Don Martin.
opinion Don Martin: ArriveCan debacle may be even worse than we know from auditor's report
It's been 22 years since a former auditor general blasted the Chretien government after it 'broke just about every rule in the book' in handing out private sector contracts in the sponsorship scandal. In his column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin says the book has been broken anew with everything that went on behind the scenes of the 'dreaded' ArriveCan app.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries 'Roots,' has died. He was 87.
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury cruise line selling world cruise suite for US$1.7 million
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Local Spotlight
Conservation officers seize 9-foot python from Chilliwack home
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Ontario auto-insurance changes could leave some vulnerable, says expert
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A tiny critter who could: Elusive Newfoundland Marten makes improbable comeback
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
Ontario man loses $12K to deepfake scam involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Record-setting pop tab collection for Ontario boy
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
'I was just like, holy cow!': Saskatoon dumpster divers reclaim wasted valuables
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario to balance budget ahead of 2026 election, citing delay due to 'economic uncertainty'
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.