Ritz Says Capital Gains Exemption Better Reflects Farm Values

Apr 24, 2015

This week’s federal budget is getting good reviews from the majority of Canada’s agriculture sector.

The increase to the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption is getting the most attention from agriculture groups.

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says when they took over in 2006, it sat at $500,000 and they’ve made an effort to move it up.

"We've all seen the value of farms grow exponentially, so this is a reflection of that," he said. "We of course moved it up to $750,000; indexed it - it climbed to a little over $800,000. Now we're setting the benchmark at a million dollars to reflect that value that we see out there in farm country.

" Also earmarked in the budget was $12 million over two years, starting in 2016 for the AgriMarketing Program to promote Canadian agricultural and agri-food products around the world.

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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.