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These are the top stories:
CannTrust’s chairman and CEO were informed in November about unlicensed pot growing
Internal e-mails show chairman Eric Paul and CEO Peter Aceto were made aware that cannabis was being cultivated in unlicensed rooms about seven months before Health Canada uncovered the regulatory breach.
“We dodged some bullets,” CannTrust’s director of quality and compliance said in an e-mail to a number of executives. “[Health Canada] did not ask about RG8E/W, which are unlicensed rooms currently full of plants.”
Health Canada is investigating the Vaughan, Ont.-based producer, which has seen its stock fall 47 per cent since July 8. CannTrust halted all cannabis sales amid concerns the probe could prompt it to lose its licence.
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The search is on for two teens now suspects in three Northern B.C. deaths
Security camera images of the two suspects are displayed at an RCMP news conference. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, were originally reported missing after police found their burned-out camper truck last Friday. But now, RCMP have named them as suspects in three roadside killings and are warning the public they are armed and dangerous.
The pair were most recently spotted in the northern Manitoba community of Gillam. The chief of the Fox Lake Cree Nation said the community was being patrolled as the RCMP conducts their work with a large presence. Chief Walter Spence said a vehicle was burned and discarded near the reserve, but that he could not confirm it was the vehicle being driven by the teens.
The victims: American Chynna Deese and her 23-year-old Australian boyfriend Lucas Fowler were found dead the morning of July 15 on the side of the highway connecting Northern B.C. with Yukon and Alaska. On Friday, more than 500 kilometres away, police found the body of an unidentified man near the burned camper.
Canada’s ex-ambassador to China says the PMO asked him to clear his comments
David Mulroney, who served as Canada’s envoy to Beijing from 2009 to 2012, says the Prime Minister’s Office asked him last week to check with Ottawa before making further comments on the federal government’s China policy.
Mulroney says an official at Global Affairs Canada said it was important for Canada to speak with one voice amid tensions with Beijing while also citing the “election environment.”
In recent weeks, Mulroney has called for a toughened stand against China and suggested Canadian tourists avoid “a repressive detention state.”
Robert Mueller is testifying today. Here’s what you need to know
Months after his Trump-Russia report was released, and despite his desire to close the books on the probe, the former special counsel will answer questions before two U.S. House committees today.
What to watch for: Democrats will be looking to further scrutinize Mueller’s findings, including his argument against indicting a sitting president without going so far as to exonerate Donald Trump. Mueller may also be asked about Trump’s attempts to fire him.
What could follow: With Mueller saying there is nothing he can add to his original findings, the hearings may bring little clarity. But some Democrats may use his remarks to push for Trump’s impeachment, while Republicans will look to end the saga for good.
The Quebec government says ‘enormous’ work is needed to fix SNC-Lavalin
Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon has joined SNC’s largest investor in publicly criticizing the company for its “unacceptable” performance.
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which holds a 20-per-cent stake in SNC, called for quick action to reverse declines as the engineering giant announced its third profit warning since January.
Ian Edwards, who took over as CEO last month, wants to shift SNC away from the risks of cost overruns on construction contracts in favour of more consulting work. But some investors want further action, including overhauling the board and launching a global search for a new CEO.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Boris Johnson becomes Britain’s new PM: The colourful politician officially replaces Theresa May today after winning the Tory leadership vote. His first major task will be to follow through on a promise to “get Brexit done” by Oct. 31. But there are also questions of what stand he’ll take on the Iran crisis. And as John Ibbitson writes, he poses new challenges for Canada’s politicians.
Next court battle in Quebec’s religious-symbols ban: Rights groups are turning to the province’s appeals court as they seek a temporary injunction of Bill 21 pending a wider challenge. Their original request for an injunction was turned down by the superior court.
MORNING MARKETS
Stocks mixed
Global shares crept higher on Wednesday as prospects of fresh China-U.S. trade talks drew a guarded welcome from investors, while dour data on euro zone economic activity hit the euro ahead of a European Central Bank policy meeting. Tokyo’s Nikkei was up 0.4 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite 0.8 per cent. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.9 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 was 0.5 per cent lower. Germany’s DAX was 0.1 per cent higher at about 6 a.m. ET. New York futures were down. The Canadian dollar was at 76.09 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
How low will CBC TV bosses go in search of ratings and ad dollars?
John Doyle: “The very notion of a series focusing on Paul Bernardo gave this country the creeps and understandably so. It’s a repulsive idea. What the program proposal raises is the question of values at CBC TV. What moral compass do these CBC bosses have when it comes to balancing the need for a ratings win with the moral sensibility of this country?”
Iran’s message is clear: It has options and is not afraid to use them
Dennis Horak: “Iran’s seizure of a British tanker in the Persian Gulf last week was not unexpected. … But the predictability of the response doesn’t lessen the risk it poses both for the Gulf region and Iran itself. We are in for another round of rising tensions in a part of the world where the margin of error is steadily diminishing.” Dennis Horak was Canada’s head of mission in Iran from 2009-12.
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
By David ParkinsDavid Parkins/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Looking for travel ideas? Here are a few possibilities
The Finger Lakes region in New York State is a short drive from Toronto and features plenty of lakes, plus a museum home to the world’s largest collection of toys, dolls and games.
In this First Person essay, Wendy Beutel writes about why she keeps making the 14-hour flight from Australia to Vancouver to visit Stanley Park.
MOMENT IN TIME
Kellogg-Briand pact takes effect
French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand, centre, gives his address on the Pact Of Peace in the Palais D'Orsay on Aug. 27, 1928. It would go into effect less than a year later. (Associated Press)The Associated Press
July 24, 1929: No more war. That was the noble aim, although the General Pact for the Renunciation of War was criticized as useless or worse even before it was signed by 15 countries including Canada. French Minister of Foreign Affairs Aristide Briand proposed such an agreement between France and the United States, in an open letter in April, 1927. U.S. Secretary of State Frank W. Kellogg, wary of committing his country to the future defence of France, suggested that the pact be open to all countries. The text, composed partly by Canadian-born legal scholar James Thomas Shotwell, declares that “conflicts of whatever nature” should be settled only by peaceful means. But Mr. Kellogg, in testimony before Congress, said that the right of self-defence remained “implicit in every treaty,” including this one. The pact’s first and lasting effect was to abolish formal declarations of war. When Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and imposed a puppet government, it claimed to be defending its economic interests. The pact, for which Mr. Kellogg won the 1929 Nobel Peace Prize, remains in effect. It’s the reason that Russia, when its troops invaded Chechnya in 1999, invoked self-defence against Chechen terrorism. The pact’s more positive result was to advance the notion that countries have collective responsibilities. – Robert Everett-Green
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Arik Ligeti