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Another Cargill Plant in Calgary Dealing With COVID-19 Outbreak

The union that represents workers at the Cargill processing plant in northeast Calgary is hopeful a handful of positive COVID cases there won't mean the plant will have to shut down.
 
Unlike the outbreak south of the city in High River earlier this year, the union isn't asking for the plant to close, saying the company learned some valuable lessons from the outbreak in April. That's when dozens of workers became infected and at least 2 died. The High River plant shut down for two weeks and later, the province admitted it could have done a better job containing the spread.
 
In Calgary, just five of the roughly 400 workers are affected. The last confirmed case at the plant, according to the company was back on August 10th. AHS and Occupational Health and Safety have visited the plant and are testing the employees according to Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw.  
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Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

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.