Livestock Sector Looks to the Federal Government for Help

Apr 28, 2020

For the past couple of weeks, Canada's livestock sector has been asking Ottawa for help to get through the current crisis with COVID 19.

Many packing plants where livestock producers usually send their animals, are either closed or at reduced shifts because of outbreaks among workers. That's been especially troubling for the pork industry, where hogs need to be shipped to market once they've reached the proper weight.

According to Dennis Laycraft of the CCA, agriculture has been moved to the "top of the list" when it comes to funding priorities for the federal government. The prime minister also hinted at that during one of his daily COVID update on the weekend. The PM said his government is looking at additional ways to support agriculture in the coming days.

If packing plants remain closed for too long, producers could lose hundreds of millions of dollars, and consumer will notice fewer meat choices at their grocery store.

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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.