Beef emerges as the winner in renewed Canada-Chili deal

May 30, 2013

Beef emerges as the winner in renewed Canada-Chili deal

Canadian beef seeks to benefit from the renewed Canada-Chile Partnership Framework that was signed on Thursday. Canadian beef exporters will now have full access to the Chilean market. Access to the Chilean beef market is worth C$5 million a year, which Harper says has the potential to double over the next three-years. This marks the end of a 10-year-old ban on Canadian beef imports, after the discovery of BSE in 2003.

A news release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office says “Building upon our recently agreed reciprocal access for beef and beef products, Canada and Chile will foster trade in this sector. Canada and Chile will identify and advance their cooperation in areas of mutual interest, which may include innovation, genetics, climate change and new pathogens, and research on renewables including bio-based energy and biotechnology.”

The partnership between the two countries also includes agreements on education, energy, mining, science and technology.

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.