KAP Welcomes Funding Review

 

The province is currently reviewing the funding system for Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP).

 

The current system sees about 50 per cent of members pre-pay their $200 membership, while the other half pay through a check-off system when delivering grain.

 

KAP General Manager James Battershill says this can result in many producers overpaying and then having to wait for a refund.

 

"The system the way it's set up now is very problematic and there's a lot of red tape involved and administrative cost," he explained. "We know that it's frustrating for us but also for farmers and for the purchasers who collect the current KAP check-off. We're looking forward to working with the province on finding a way to streamline the system and improve it so that it's less frustrating and it reduces the red tape."

 

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.