Carbon Tax, Cost Of Grain Drying Discussed This Week In Ottawa

The country's agriculture ministers met this week in Ottawa.

 

Blaine Pedersen is Manitoba's Minister of Agriculture and Resource Development.

 

"When we were having our discussions with the federal minister, we certainly reiterated the cost of the carbon tax on propane and natural gas use for drying the crops," he said. "There's a lot of drying that happened this fall. She has asked us to put together some numbers in Manitoba's case, what the extra cost will be and so we'll be reaching out to the farm community to pull together some of the numbers, because I know they are substantial."

 

Other topics of discussion at the meeting included Business Risk Management, African swine fever, and trade issues.

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.