VAUGHAN, ON, Sept. 17, 2019 /CNW/ - CannTrust Holdings Inc.
("CannTrust" or the "Company", TSX: TRST, NYSE: CTST) announced
that it received late this morning a Notice of Licence Suspension
(the "Notice") under section 64(1) of the Cannabis Act
(Canada). The Notice cites the
Company's previous non-compliance with certain requirements of the
Cannabis Act (Canada) and
the regulation made thereunder (the "Cannabis regulations") in
respect of the matters that the Company has been discussing with
Health Canada.
The Notice states that Health Canada has suspended CannTrust's
authority to produce cannabis, other than cultivating and
harvesting, and to sell cannabis. As such, the Notice constitutes a
partial suspension of the Company's licence for standard
cultivation and a full suspension of its licences for standard
processing, medical sales, cannabis drugs and research issued under
the Cannabis regulations. While the suspension remains in effect,
CannTrust will be permitted to cultivate and harvest existing lots
or batches previously propagated, as well as conducting ancillary
activities to those lots, including drying, trimming and milling.
During the suspension, CannTrust may not propagate new lots or
batches of cannabis or engage in the sale or distribution of
cannabis.
The Notice states that Health Canada will reinstate CannTrust's
licences under section 64(4) of the Cannabis Act if the
reasons for the suspension no longer exist or if CannTrust
demonstrates that the suspension was unfounded. The Notice
also states that Health Canada considers that implementation of the
following measures could potentially address the public health and
safety risks that contributed to Health Canada's decision to issue
the Notice:
- Measures to ensure that cannabis will be produced and
distributed only as authorized, including measures to control the
movement of cannabis in and out of CannTrust's site;
- Measures to recover cannabis that was not authorized by
CannTrust's licence;
- Measures to improve key personnel's knowledge of, and
compliance with the provisions of the Act and the Regulations that
apply to CannTrust; and,
- Measures for improving the manner in which records are kept,
including a plan to improve the inventory tracking, and any interim
measures to ensure that information provided to Health Canada can
be reconciled.
The Company's management and Board of Directors are reviewing
the Notice with the Company's counsel and other advisors.
Over the past two months, the Company has moved swiftly to
assess and address Health Canada's concerns, including areas of
operational non-compliance. The Company remains committed to being
in full regulatory compliance.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking information" within
the meaning of Canadian Securities laws and "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable
United States safe harbor laws,
and such statements are based upon CannTrust's current internal
expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs and
views of future events. Forward-looking information and
forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as "believes", "expect",
"likely", "may", "will", "should", "intend", "anticipate",
"potential", "proposed", "estimate" and other similar words,
including negative and grammatical variations thereof, or
statements that certain events or conditions "may", "would" or
"will" happen, or by discussions of strategy.
The forward-looking information and statements in this news
release include statements relating to the corrective actions being
taken by the Company and Health Canada's determinations.
Forward-looking information and statements necessarily involve
known and unknown risks, including, without limitation: actions
taken in respect of the Company's products by its customers and
regulators; results of Health Canada's investigation, including any
further orders and compliance measures required by Health Canada
and their impact on the operations, inventory, assets and financial
condition of the Company; the Company's implementation of
remediation plans and related actions; regulatory approval;
risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry
events; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory
developments in Canada,
the United States and elsewhere;
the cannabis industry in Canada
generally; and, the ability of CannTrust to implement its business
strategies.
Any forward-looking information and statements speak only as of
the date on which they are made, and, except as required by law,
CannTrust does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking information or statements, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise. New factors emerge
from time to time, and it is not possible for CannTrust to predict
all such factors. When considering these forward-looking
information and statements, readers should keep in mind the risk
factors and other cautionary statements in CannTrust's Annual
Information Form dated March 28, 2019
(the "AIF") and filed with the applicable Canadian securities
regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and filed as an
exhibit CannTrust's Form 40-F annual report under the United States
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. The
risk factors and other factors noted in the AIF could cause actual
events or results to differ materially from those described in any
forward-looking information or statements.
The TSX and NYSE do not accept responsibility for the adequacy
or accuracy of this release.
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SOURCE CannTrust Holdings Inc.