Agriculture Roundup for Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Mar 01, 2023

Funding is now available for employers hiring youth in the ag sector.

The $13 million from the Youth Employment and Skills Program (YESP) will support roughly 1,200 jobs.

Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth Marci Ien said YESP will make sure everyone, regardless of their identity has a fair chance at success in many in-demand sectors, including the ever-growing agriculture sector.

“By giving young people, particularly those facing systemic barriers to employment due to their gender, race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, disability or other intersecting identities, the opportunity to gain valuable work experience, we are breaking down barriers and creating endless potential for what they can achieve tomorrow,” Ien said.

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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.