Michael Philpott honoured by OAAS

Kids who come to the West Niagara Fair should love Michael Philpott. He’s the chairperson of the Kidz Zone at the fair. He is the one who makes sure there is toy tractors and corn to play in, mystery farm objects and saddles to try out. His area is pretty popular.He is also in charge of parking (that might not make him so popular) and he runs the successful Junk in the Trunk garage sale every spring. It is also been said that he keeps the floors of the Community Building nice and shiny.

 

Philpott was recognized by his peers and awarded a Meritorious Service Award at the recent Ontario Association of Agriculture Societies convention in Toronto.

 

“My history with the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies started with the Lincoln Agricultural Society and then the joining of the Lincoln and the Smithville Agricultural Society.”

 

In 2006, he took on the challenge of becoming a District 6 associate agricultural director and then an agricultural director, which he was until 2017 when the OAAS started downsizing the provincial board.

 

“Presently I am a District 6 director along with Shirley Peer and Rachel Anderson. Together with the district executives – provincial director Heather Dillon, secretary Sylvia Parr and treasurer Kathy Smith – as a team we try to inspire and support our 12 fair/societies in our district. Our mission is to act as a resource for the societies, providing leadership through communication, resources, education and encouraging the promotion of a rural way in Ontario.”

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.