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Farmers In The Lower Mainland May Have To Wait Months Before Returning

There are many farmers in the Fraser Valley between the cities of Abbotsford and Chilliwack who believe it will be months before they can set foot on their farms again.

Many were flooded by more than a metre of water as a result of a huge storm on the west coast about a week ago. Although some farmers managed to get horses and cows to higher ground, it's believed at least a thousand animals died in the flooding. There are also many chicken farms in the area and some of those farmers were forced to abandon them. Several that weren't flooded were quickly running out of feed because of washed out highways.

This past weekend, the situation was beginning to improve. The Fraser River started receding and some traffic was moving again between Hope and the Okanagan.

Alberta is helping out our neighbors to the west. Late last week, Premier Jason Kenney said he had a phone call with his BC counterpart, John Horgan and they discussed various ways our province could help producers in the Fraser Valley, including setting up veterinary lab services.

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Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

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.