Crop Logistics Working Group Receives Renewed Mandate

Feb 20, 2015

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has announced that the Crop Logistics Working Group (CLWG) has received its third mandate to bring together agriculture sector experts to provide advice on how to improve the grain handling and transportation system.

"Canada’s crop industry is a vital part of the Canadian economy and we will continue to work with all parts of the supply chain to get farmers’ products to market," said Ritz. "The renewed mandate for the CLWG will support the government’s long-term strategy to strengthen and modernize Canada’s grain sector to position it for future growth."

The working group will be chaired by Murdoch MacKay and will include representation from across the agriculture sector.

"I look forward to working with my industry colleagues to find ways of improving and strengthening the grain supply chain," said MacKay, who also serves as the Commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission.

The first meeting took place Thursday in Winnipeg.

Source: PortageOnline

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.