Morning Update: Soulpepper’s Schultz resigns; Lynn Beyak removed from Tory caucus

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These are the top stories:

Albert Schultz has resigned from Soulpepper theatre amid sexual harassment allegations

His resignation, which is effective immediately, came on the same day that four Soulpepper actors told a press conference that they would not work for the theatre company until Mr. Schultz was gone for good. On Wednesday, four women filed lawsuits against Mr. Schultz and Soulpepper, accusing the artistic director of sexual harassment and sexual assault over a period spanning two decades. They described Mr. Schultz as a "serial sexual predator" in their statements of claim. Soulpepper then instructed Mr. Schultz to step down while it conducted an investigation. But now Mr. Schultz, who is vowing to defend himself "vigorously," has resigned in "the interest of the future of the company into which I poured the last 20 years of my life."

The accusations against Ms. Schultz have also put Soulpepper's board of directors in the spotlight. For one, the board faces tough questions over the company's governance structure. The company's policy states that harassment complaints should be directed to either executive director Leslie Lester or human resources director Sarah Farrell. But Ms. Lester is married to Mr. Schultz, and Ms. Farrell is also the company's general counsel.

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Senator Lynn Beyak has been removed from the Tory caucus over a 'racist' post on her website

Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer ejected Beyak from caucus after she refused to take down a letter that said Indigenous people "will sit and wait until the government gives them stuff." Scheer condemned Beyak's actions: "Promoting this comment is offensive and unacceptable for a Conservative parliamentarian. To suggest that Indigenous Canadians are lazy compared to other Canadians, is simply racist," he said in a statement. Beyak first made headlines last year when she said "some good" had come from Indigenous residential schools. The letter in question was one of roughly 100 posted to Beyak's site in support of her position.

A change in U.S. cannabis policy has sparked worries for Canadian marijuana firms

U.S. Attorney-General Jeff Sessions has moved to undo a policy that allows states to let cannabis be grown and sold despite the fact that it remains illegal federally. The uncertainty over whether this will lead to changes in enforcement south of the border sent Canadian marijuana stocks plunging (for subscribers). While marijuana firms with U.S. assets have been banned from listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange, another stock market called the Canadian Securities Exchange allows them so long as they disclose legal risks to investors.

Mr. Sessions has previously described marijuana as a dangerous gateway drug and opposes legalizing it for recreational use. On New Year's Day, California became the latest state to allow recreational pot sales.

Subscribers: The Globe's Tim Kiladze warns that despite the hype, there are numerous risks associated with investing in marijuana stocks.

A Liberal MP acted as an intermediary for a businessman now accused of running a pyramid scheme

Chinese-Canadian businessman Xiao Hua Gong, also known as Edward Gong, was arrested in Toronto last week over charges that he helped orchestrate a $466-million pyramid scheme. Back in June of last year, while Mr. Gong was under criminal investigation, Liberal MP Geng Tan hand-delivered a letter from Mr. Gong to a top official at Canada's embassy in Beijing and also spoke with Chinese authorities on behalf of Mr. Gong, who is a Liberal Party donor. Mr. Tan says he was just transporting correspondence for a member of the Toronto community and didn't know a Canadian investigation into Mr. Gong was being conducted. Mr. Tan wouldn't say why he didn't take the letter to the RCMP in Canada or who paid for his trip to China. Mr.Tan's office said he spoke with Chinese authorities to express "hope" that "due process will be followed."

A 'weather bomb' has left tens of thousands without power in Atlantic Canada

Public transit, including ferry services, has been temporarily halted. Photos have emerged of torn roofs, fallen scaffolding and flooded streets. Dozens of flights were cancelled. That's just a small snapshot of how eastern provinces have been coping with a storm dubbed a "weather bomb," which is a powerful cyclone spurred by hot and cold temperatures colliding. Nova Scotia is expecting coastal flooding, New Brunswick has been hit with blizzard conditions and winds of up to 180 kilometres an hour may hit Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. "These are events that you might only see once in a decade or once in several decades," said former Environment Canada meteorologist Jim Abraham.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Kathleen Wynne is accusing the children of Tim Hortons co-founders of bullying staff

Employees at two Tim Hortons locations in Ontario were told they would not longer get paid breaks or other perks once the province's minimum wage rose from $11.60 to $14 on Jan. 1. Staff were also told that they'd have to cover at least half of their dental and health benefits. The locations are owned by the son and daughter of the chain's co-founders. Wynne called the move "the act of a bully." The Ontario Premier has been under pressure from business leaders who oppose the wage increase, and the Bank of Canada just warned that the hike could cost nearly 60,000 jobs across the country by next year.

MORNING MARKETS

Stocks keep climbing

Global stocks scaled fresh record highs on Friday after more data pointed to the strength of the world's largest economy, while the U.S. dollar was stuck near four-month lows ahead of crucial payroll numbers. Tokyo's Nikkei gained 0.9 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.3 per cent, and the Shanghai composite 0.2 per cent. In Europe, London's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were up by between 0.3 and 1.1 per cent by about 5:30 a.m. ET. New York futures were also up, and the Canadian dollar was still stuck at just about the 80-cent (U.S.) mark. Oil prices fell, dropping away from highs last seen in 2015.

FYI: The Globe now provides all users access to real-time stock quotes for both Canadian and U.S. markets. Go here to find out about the major changes to our Globe Investor site.

WHAT EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT

Aspiring home buyers, your dreams are about to get even further out of reach

"This is the year that kills home-ownership dreams for some aspiring first-time buyers. Mortgage rates are expected to creep higher in 2018, which means declining affordability. As expensive as houses in some cities are, they may never be as accessible to the first-time buyer as they are today. The choice these buyers face is to jump in now, or accept that they may never own a home unless they settle for a condo, move to a cheaper city, get help from parents or advance their careers in a way that brings a big pay increase." – Rob Carrick

Iran needs this internal combustion

"Having long suspected the extent of the regime's corruption, and now armed with the information from the budget leaks, the Iranian people have taken to the streets to call for the clerics to be reined in, the end of foreign military adventures and to the end of the dictatorship. Protesters have even torn down and burned multiple posters of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the head of the clergy. Simply unheard of nearly a decade ago when the 2009 Green Movement captured Iranians' revolutionary spirit is the outright loathing of the corrupt religious establishment. This revolutionary moment is even more interesting because the clerics had depended on the support of the very towns and cities that have taken to the streets in protest. The clergy are finally being seen for what they are: kleptocrats hiding behind the veil of religious piety." – Bessma Momani, professor at the Balsillie School of International Affairs

Mr. Trudeau's judgment, and the company he keeps

"Among the hazards of public life are the photo ops that come back to haunt you. Our snap-happy Prime Minister is a case in point. … [Take] the Boyle family. If you didn't know the backstory, the photos of their meeting with Justin Trudeau are positively heartwarming. After all, these are the hostages who were dramatically rescued from the clutches of the Taliban in October. The PM met with them just before Christmas. He looks caring and compassionate. The baby Boyle he's bouncing on his knee looks adorable. It's a happy ending to a gruesome story. Except that Joshua Boyle has now been charged with a string of serious criminal offences, including sexual and physical assault and unlawful confinement. How could the Prime Minister and his people not have known he was under investigation? And if they did, why did they go ahead? Suddenly, Mr. Trudeau no longer looks caring and compassionate. He just looks stupid." – Margaret Wente

HEALTH PRIMER

When you hit the gym, plan a workout for your brain

Your brain gets used to repetition, in turn making those actions less challenging. That's why forming new exercise habits can help keep your brain sharp. One shift in cardio, for example, can be to swap out mindless, forward-moving activities for reactive ones like tennis or dance. You can also try adding sideways and backwards running into your workouts. Exercises that challenge your balance, co-ordination or reactivity are also beneficial for the brain.

MOMENT IN TIME

The Wiz debuts on Broadway

Jan. 5, 1975: On Jan. 5, 1975, The Wiz, an all-black musical version of L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz with songs by Charlie Smalls, opened on Broadway after a tryout in Baltimore – and it initially looked like it was going to be a flop. According to Variety, it was only a gamble on a four-week television promotional campaign – then a radical concept for New York theatre – that reversed the show's fortunes and turned it into a smash. The original cast included future R&B star Stephanie Mills as Dorothy – and a Munchkin played by Phylicia Rashad, who would later become famous playing Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show in the 1980s and became the first black actress to win a Tony Award for best actress in a play in 2004. Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Lena Horne were all in the 1978 film adaptation – while Canada's Cirque du Soleil helped introduce the musical to a new generation in 2015, when it co-produced an NBC special called The Wiz Live! that featured Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah and Ne-Yo and had a cameo by Ms. Mills, the original Dorothy, now playing Auntie Em. – J. Kelly Nestruck

Morning Update is written by Arik Ligeti.

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