VAUGHAN, ON, April 30, 2021 /CNW/ - CannTrust Holdings Inc.
("CannTrust" or the "Company") (unlisted) announced today that
CannTrust and KPMG LLP ("KPMG") have agreed that KPMG will not be
completing the audits for the Company's restated financial
statements for the years ended December 31,
2018 and 2019 and will not stand for reappointment as the
Company's independent auditor for the Company's financial
statements for the year ended December 31,
2020.
KPMG has been the Company's independent auditor since
December 21, 2018 and, on
August 8, 2019, KPMG withdrew its
report dated March 27, 2019 on the
Company's financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018 and its interim report to the
Audit Committee dated May 13, 2019 on
the interim financial statements for the three months ended
March 31, 2019. KPMG has not audited
any of CannTrust's financial statements for any period subsequent
to December 31, 2018 or expressed any
opinion in respect of any of the Company's financial statements for
any period subsequent to March 31,
2019.
The Company is in advanced discussions with potential successor
auditors and expects to announce a successor auditor in the coming
weeks.
For a copy of the Company's reporting package, including the
notice of change of auditor and KPMG's response letter, each
prepared in accordance with the applicable requirements of Section
4.11 of National Instrument 51-102 – Continuous Disclosure
Obligations, please visit www.sedar.com.
CannTrust remains under CCAA protection to facilitate its
efforts to resolve its civil litigation claims and complete its
review of strategic alternatives, which includes a review of
financing options. Aspects of the ongoing efforts remain
confidential, and the Company is unable to predict with any
certainty either their timing or outcome. In the meantime, the
reinstatement of its cannabis licenses and the restoration of its
ongoing operations, CannTrust's re-entry into the Canadian
recreational and medical cannabis business segments and its entry
into the Restructuring Support Agreement are essential to the
Company's focus on rebuilding its franchise. For more information
about CannTrust's CCAA proceedings, please visit:
www.ey.com/ca/canntrust.
About CannTrust
CannTrust is a federally regulated licensed cannabis
producer. We are proudly Canadian, operating a portfolio of brands
including estora, Liiv and Synr.g, specifically
designed to surprise and delight patients and consumers.
At CannTrust, we are committed to providing an exceptional
customer experience, as well as consistent and quality
products through standardized processes. Our
greenhouse produces Grade A cannabis flower, which is
currently sold in dried flower, oil drops and capsule
formats. Founded in 2013, our continued success in the medical
cannabis market and subsequent expansion into the recreational
business, led to us being named Licensed Producer of the Year at
the Canadian Cannabis Awards 2018.
CannTrust is committed to research and
innovation, investing in developing technologies for new
products in the medical, recreational, and wellness markets, while
contributing to the growing body of evidence-based research
regarding the use and efficacy of cannabis.
Learn more at www.canntrust.com.
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 expectation that
CannTrust will announce a successor auditor and the expectation
that CannTrust will settle certain civil litigation claims and
emerge from creditor protection under the CCAA. Forward-looking
information and statements necessarily involve known and unknown
risks, including, without limitation: the outcome of the Company's
contingent liabilities; the impact of potential regulatory and
other investigations; the Company's review of strategic
alternatives; 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
"March 2019 Form 40-F"). 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. Readers are also
reminded that CannTrust remains in default of its periodic
disclosure requirements under applicable securities laws and stock
exchange requirements, that its most recent AIF, Form 40-F and
other disclosures do not reflect all risk factors that currently
face the Company, and that the Company has not completed or filed
the restatements of the financial statements included in the AIF or
the March 2019 Form 40-F or otherwise
filed an amendment to such Form 40-F, and that the Company has
determined not to correct its prior filings or make any further
filings in respect of periodic disclosure requirements under
applicable securities laws and stock exchange requirements. None of
the Company's securities is listed for trading on any stock
exchange in any jurisdiction and, in Canada, trading in the Company's securities is
subject to a cease-trade order issued on April 13, 2020 by the Ontario Securities
Commission for CannTrust's failure to comply with its disclosure
obligations under applicable securities laws.
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SOURCE CannTrust Holdings Inc.