Busy Weeks Ahead For Ag Minister Pedersen

Jan 13, 2020

Manitoba Agriculture & Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen was busy meeting with farmers last week at St. Jean Farm Days.

He talked about the mood heading into the 2020 growing season.

"You could describe it as cautious optimism," he said. "I know there was lots of issues getting the crop off, grain drying. We're lobbying the federal government about the cost of fuel for grain drying. The carbon tax being charged on that and I'm working with the federal MP's to get some numbers together to show just how big an impact that really did have."

Pedersen says he'll be travelling throughout the province over the next few weeks attending various farm meetings and events.

Click here to see more...

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.