Barlow Says Farmers Will See Relief Through Government COVID-19 Benefit Plan

Mar 26, 2020

Farmers won't be left behind when it comes to government money being handed to workers and businesses losing out during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Foothills MP, John Barlow, says the Feds say they're going to lift the cap on loans from Farm Credit Canada as well as opening loan applications sooner.

Barlow says a lot of these issues came up when he spoke to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau this past week.

"Those are some things I did bring to the Minister's attention this week. As well as exempting the carbon tax from agriculture I think would be a very strong step forward. But obviously a lot of our farmers, ranchers and producers have jobs off the farm. And they can certainly apply for some of these programs through small businesses, EDC and ESTC as well."

Barlow says he also wants to assure residents the supply chain remains fully functional despite the closure of the Canada/U.S. border to non-essential travel.

he says the border remains open to trade and consumer goods.

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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.