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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

CannTrust allegedly used fake walls to hide cannabis from Health Canada

According to Nick Lalonde, who worked for CannTrust Holdings Inc. from June, 2017, to May, 2019, and served as head of disposal operations at its Pelham, Ont., greenhouse, the company took explicit steps to hide its unlicensed operations from Health Canada. On at least one occasion last fall, employees were asked to stay late to set up fake walls to hide “several thousand” plants from view, in order to take photographs that had been ordered by Health Canada as part of routine licensing requirements, Mr. Lalonde told The Globe and Mail. CannTrust acknowledged on Monday that employees had provided “inaccurate information” to regulators.

The cannabis producer is under investigation by Health Canada after federal regulators found CannTrust was growing cannabis in five unlicensed rooms in its greenhouse in Pelham between October, 2018, and March, the company acknowledged Monday. The announcement sent CannTrust’s NYSE-listed stock plummeting 36 per cent since Monday and company products have been removed from Ontario Cannabis Store shelves.

The long road back: IndyCar’s fastest-rising Canadian star, embarking on one of the most extraordinary comebacks in sports

Canadian Robert Wickens was a natural talent who seemed destined for greatness before a horrifying crash nearly killed him, and left his body shattered. A year later, against incredible odds and warnings from doctors that his injuries might be insurmountable, Wickens is now trying to engineer one of the most remarkable comeback stories Canadian sport has seen. This weekend, without the full use of his legs, he will lead the warm-up lap before the event using a specially equipped car controlled entirely with his hands. Then, sitting in his wheelchair, he will don a headset in the paddock and provide strategy to his teammates during the race.

It is a ceremonial return, but Wickens has bigger plans. Less than a year after the sport nearly killed him and in the midst of a brutal recovery process that sometimes leaves him defeated and in tears at the end of the day, he is vowing to get back into a racecar. First he must teach himself to walk again, one step at a time, then eventually he wants to race for real.

Developing: At least 35 people sustain minor injuries after Air Canada flight hits unexpected turbulence

Air Canada says 35 people have been injured after flight AC33 from Vancouver to Sydney, Australia, hit unexpected turbulence and was forced to make an emergency landing in Honolulu. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft, which had 269 passengers and 15 crew members on board, was roughly two hours past Hawaii when it encountered sudden, un-forecasted turbulence, Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said in an e-mail.

Freeland says McCallum ‘does not speak’ for Canadian government after China comments

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is distancing the Trudeau government from former China envoy John McCallum after he warned Beijing against punishing Canada further over the arrest of a Huawei executive because it could end up electing a Conservative government. She also rebuked such conduct, saying Canadians should not be offering advice to any foreign government on how to affect election results in Canada.

“It is inappropriate for any Canadian to be advising any foreign government on ways it ought, or ought not, to behave to secure any particular election outcome in Canada,” she said.

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WHAT ELSE IS ON OUR RADAR

Airlifts continue as forest fire threatening Pikangikum First Nation grows in size: Officials in Saskatchewan say the first flight of evacuees arrived in Regina this morning and another seven flights are scheduled to land today.

Canada pledges $1-million for fund to help imprisoned journalists as conference on press freedom ends: During an international conference designed to promote media freedom, Canada and Britain announced a series of measures to promote freedom of the press and to help imprisoned journalists.

The Calgary Stampede is trying to reduce waste going to the landfill: A single garbage bag weighing about 13 kilograms was all that went to the landfill after more than 20,000 people ate pancakes last weekend during a family breakfast, said Xaviere Schneider, the Stampede’s environmental co-ordinator.

Raptors make signings of Stanley Johnson and Terence Davis official: The team did not release terms of the contracts. The Athletic last week reported Johnson’s contract to be a two-year deal worth US$7.5 million.

Northern premiers ask provinces to do their part to reduce greenhouse gases: Nunavut Premier Joe Savikataaq said his territory, which relies on diesel for electricity, is responsible for less than 1 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.

MARKET WATCH

The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Thursday to close at record highs as health insurers gained after the Trump administration scrapped a plan designed to rein in prescription drug prices, while financial shares climbed with bond yields. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 227.88 points to 27,088.08, the S&P 500 gained 6.84 points to 2,999.91 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 6.49 points to 8,196.04.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 35.39 points at 16,527.90, with CannTrust Holdings Inc. continuing a string of declines since it disclosed some production was done in unlicensed growing rooms.

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TALKING POINTS

‘Where are you from?’ In search of my Canadian identity

Esi Edugyan: “It has become a near cliché to say it, but it’s true: we are a nation of many narratives and histories, and it is in the attempts to harmonize our various stories that our culture lives.” Edugyan is an award-winning author based in Victoria. Her most recent novel is Washington Black.

Anti-abortion film Unplanned is a disgusting piece of propaganda that may endanger the health of women

Barry Hertz: “But I’ll give Johnson a point for the squirming: Unplanned will make you writhe in agony over how such an ugly, malicious and potentially dangerous piece of religious and political propaganda could have made its way into this world.”

Djokovic: the other, possibly better, definitely more boring tennis star

Cathal Kelly: ”He’s like a kid who jumps on the piano as soon as visitors arrive and bangs out Beethoven’s 9th. He is – and this is hard to define and impossible to miss – a try hard."

Adam Lambert makes an impression on Rhapsody Tour with Queen

Marsha Lederman: “I will never stop being thrilled by the sheer genius and extraordinary innovation of Bohemian Rhapsody, never. But to hear the song performed live and to sing along with thousands of people who also knew every word was next-level.”

LIVING BETTER

What if this year’s vacation could pay for next year’s, or at least cover a good chunk of it? Thanks to points and miles, it’s possible, especially if you’re willing to pledge your loyalty to one or two brands. You can make decision like to pick a hotel group and an airline, and stick to them. The point you earn will go directly to the next journey. Apply for credit cards that have big sign up bonuses, getting points for trips in the future as well. Now book your upcoming trips with those credit cards using your chosen airlines — think about airline branded cards too. Lastly, just always think strategically when planning your trip, and the returns you could be getting from your spending. If you don’t like the idea of a hotel- or airline-branded credit card, you can devise a similar strategy using general travel rewards or even cash-back credit cards.

LONG READ FOR A LONG COMMUTE

Why your next hire should be a person with disabilities

At a time when it’s challenging to find employees, small businesses often consider hiring people with disabilities. However, many falsely believe that the steps in doing so are time-consuming and complicated – with uncertain outcomes. When hiring, once the need for a specific accommodation has been identified, the employer does needs to have some flexibility; people with disabilities may have to have their workload adjusted or be given more time to complete a task. However, many agencies can provide toolkits to help companies handle these issues. Disabled Canadians are lagging in employment compared with their nondisabled peers. Meanwhile, a BDC survey of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses says nearly 40 per cent are having trouble hiring new employees due to labour shortages.

Evening Update is written by Sierra Bein. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.

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