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These are the top stories:
What could come next for CannTrust after the Health Canada licence suspension
The Ontario-based cannabis company has 10 days to appeal the suspension or it could be forced to shutter its greenhouse facility and processing plant.
And while CannTrust Holdings Inc. could win back its licences if it meets regulatory requirements, Andrew Willis says the company is at risk of running short on cash in the interim. No competitors are likely to try a full-scale takeover of CannTrust, but they might make offers for its greenhouses and other assets.
The company’s stock now sits at $1.70 a share. Top executives were forced out after it was revealed they were informed of unlicensed growing before Health Canada’s discovery.
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The B.C. man with a secret life who prompted the RCMP’s leak investigation
Vince Ramos was known as a salesman and loving father in Richmond, B.C. But he was running a company that sold secure BlackBerrys said to be used in Australian cocaine schemes, Mexican cartel operations and even by Thunder Bay mobsters.
By the mid-2010s, authorities had caught on to Ramos’s Phantom Secure enterprise, and a joint international team including the RCMP worked to take it down. He was arrested by U.S. authorities in 2018, and pleaded guilty. The Mounties found internal material on his seized laptop, a clue that led to the arrest of one of their own, Cameron Ortis.
Saskatchewan and Manitoba are reviewing their use of birth alerts
The two provinces are examining the practice of having doctors and hospitals alert child-welfare authorities about newborns deemed to be at risk of harm because of their parents’ backgrounds, which can result in babies being apprehended. On Monday, B.C. announced it will end birth alerts.
The practice disproportionately affects Indigenous women, who are sometimes flagged if they previously had a child taken into care.
Not every birth alert results in a child being apprehended, but the practice has come under scrutiny in recent years.
The Liberals are delaying the release of independent costing of campaign promises
Justin Trudeau is waiting until his party releases its full platform to share the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s reports on the costs of his party’s election promises – while the Tories and NDP make such estimates public with individual campaign announcements.
The Liberals legislated new rules after the 2015 vote to allow parties to submit promises for independent review. Still, the Liberal campaign team said the party is submitting only “big ticket” proposals for PBO costing.
On the campaign trail, Andrew Scheer announced a plan to boost government contributions to Registered Education Savings Plans, plus a tax credit for parental leave. Trudeau said the Liberals would make maternity and parental benefits tax-free, and increase the Canada Child Tax Benefit in a baby’s first year.
The Globe and CTV have partnered with Nanos Research for a daily election tracking poll. The Conservatives are sitting at 36 per cent, while the Liberals are at 35 per cent, the NDP at 15 per cent, the Greens at 7 per cent, the Bloc Québécois at 5 per cent and the People’s Party at 2 per cent. Go here to read about the methodology and see the latest results.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Israel’s election sees two main political parties deadlocked and no clear winner: With neither Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud nor former military chief Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party forecast to secure a majority in the 120-seat parliament without his support, veteran Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman has emerged as the election’s true winner — the one most likely to dictate the makeup of the next government.
Canadian stars Tessa Virtue, Scott Moir say they’re ‘stepping away’ from ice dancing: Virtue, from London, Ont., and Moir, from Ilderton, Ont., were expected to retire following a gold-medal performance at the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018, but had not made an official announcement until Tuesday. They have been ice dancing partners for 22 years.
Iran’s Supreme Leader rules out talks with Washington: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Teheran wouldn’t negotiate until the Trump administration rejoins a nuclear agreement, further escalating tensions after the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities. Riyadh, meanwhile, said it would fully restore oil output by the end of September.
U.S. GM strike triggers layoffs in Ontario: A trucking company that delivers auto parts has cut 100 drivers, while as many as 2,200 staff at GM’s St. Catharines and Oshawa plants will be laid off if the U.S. strike continues, Unifor president Jerry Dias said.
Autism centre cuts services, blaming Ford government: A Sudbury centre says changes to Ontario’s autism funding mean it can no longer offer therapy to new families, despite a waiting list of 1,200 children.
MORNING MARKETS
Caution rules oil, financial markets due to Middle East worries, Fed: Oil prices steadied on Wednesday as Middle East events kept investors nervous, while caution ahead of an expected U.S. interest rate cut kept wider financial markets in tight ranges. Asian stocks finished mixed. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.25 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.13 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei ended down 0.18 per cent. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.27 per cent around 5 a.m. ET. Germany’s DAX rose 0.14 per cent and France’s CAC 40 added 0.18 per cent. New York futures were slightly lower. The Canadian dollar was weaker at 75.35 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
The Liberals set up a debates commission, and now they’re benefitting from it
Globe editorial: “The bottom line is that there are serious problems with the Leaders’ Debate Commission. It’s not the commission’s criteria; the question of who should be invited to a leaders’ debate is inherently subjective. The problem is that those criteria were unilaterally set by the Trudeau government. It’s not a great look.”
The venerable New York Times plays to Trump’s script
Lawrence Martin: “For a paper with exceedingly high standards – the best newspaper ever, in my view – it’s making too many mistakes, some of which play right into the small hands of media demonizer Donald Trump.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
(Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail)Brian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Vacation ideas, from Alaska to Elora
If you’re looking for something in between an Alaskan cruise and a backcountry hike, Kenai Fjords National Park has plenty to offer. It’s also worth squeezing in a night or two in Anchorage.
The charming community of Elora, meanwhile, makes for a perfect weekend getaway in Southern Ontario. It’s packed with limestone buildings, independent shops and a sculpture project that runs till October.
MOMENT IN TIME
Patty Hearst is arrested
(Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Sept. 18, 1975: After being kidnapped in 1974 from her apartment in Berkeley, Calif., Patty Hearst became the centre of one of the most puzzling cases in FBI history. The granddaughter of a major media proprietor, the 19-year-old was held hostage by the Symbionese Liberation Army, an anti-capitalist group whose members had previously been arrested for murder. Hearst claimed she was confined to a closet while held, raped by group members and threatened with death. The group initially demanded food donations to needy Californians as ransom, which her family attempted by distributing US$2-million worth. Two months into her kidnapping, the gang released a tape with Hearst announcing her membership in the group. Her participation in the cell’s crimes, including two bank robberies, led to her eventual arrest by the FBI. Her trial was split between two narratives: that she was brainwashed into joining the terrorist group and that she willingly participated in the crimes. In 1976, Hearst was convicted and sentenced to 35 years. However, she was released in 1979, after then-president Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence. On his last day in office in 2001, Bill Clinton gave her a full pardon. – Maria Iqbal
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