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Prairie Canola Groups Fund Five Research Projects

The three Prairie provincial canola grower associations will be funding five new research projects focusing on developing and evaluating disease resistance, abiotic stress resilience, and integrated pest management, a March 15 news release said.

The funding is being doled out under the Canola Agronomic Research Program (CARP) with the total investment being over $1.7 million. The funding also includes over $1 million from Alberta Canola, SaskCanola and Manitoba Canola Growers, as well as over $600,000 from the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF), the release said.

“CARP allows the Prairie canola groups to work together and leverage grower dollars to increase research capacity, while simultaneously benefiting all canola growers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba,” Roger Chevraux, chair of Alberta Canola, said in the release. “Although our specific research priorities may differ from province to province, we are committed to investing in research that contributes to the continued successful and sustainable production of canola in Canada.”

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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.