The Globe and Mail - 30.07.2019

TUESDAY,JULY30,2019 | THEGLOBEANDMAIL O A

The chairman of the board of
Bombardier, a scion of the Rot-
man family, the chairman of a ma-
jor power company – these prom-
inent Canadians all gave as much
money as they’re allowed, or close
to it, to both the Liberals and Con-
servatives in 2018.
They are among at least 20 Can-
adians who gave substantially to
the country’s two most fiercely
opposed parties last year, accord-
ing to an analysis of public Elec-
tions Canada documents by The
Canadian Press. Such donations
are fully legal: A person can give
to all the political parties if he or
she wishes. But they are unusual.
Annual returns for last year
submitted by the two parties were
compared by both names and
postal codes to find people who
gave 90 per cent or more of the

maximum donation, which at the

time was $1,575. Names listed on

the returns of both parties that

were paired with different postal

codes were excluded.

The resulting list is a who’s-

who of the upper crust in Canada,

including numerous corporate

executives, officers of the Order of

Canada and people with build-

ings named after them.

There are Blake Goldring and

Amy Kaiser – the former an officer

of the Order of Canada and exec-

utive chairman of AGF Manage-

ment Ltd., the latter a former

chair of the SickKids hospital

foundation and a professor at the

University of Toronto.

There are also David Cornhill,

the former chair of AltaGas; Gor-

don Rawlinson, who owns Rawl-

co Radio based in Saskatchewan

(his wife is also on the list); and

Donald K. Johnson, the investor

who is also a member of the Order

of Canada.

Add those to the aforemen-

tioned Pierre Beaudoin (Bombar-

dier), Kenneth Rotman (Clairvest

Group), James Temerty (North-

land Power) and several others.

Multiple people on the list

made their donations to each par-

ty on the same day.

The Canadian Press attempted

to reach many of the donors, but

most did not respond or declined

to comment.

The one donor to respond, the

former chair of the Canadian Jew-

ish Political Affairs Committee

Sherry Firestone, said her dona-

tion to the Liberals was for a fun-

draiser and the donation to the

Conservatives was a fee for at-

tending the party’s 2018 conven-

tion as an observer.

In an e-mailed statement, a

spokesperson for the Liberals

highlighted the “growing suc-

cess” of their grassroots fundrais-

ing and emphasized the imple-

mentation of transparency rules

around the party’s fundraising

events. A spokesperson for the

Conservative party said if some-

one “chooses to donate to multi-

ple parties, they’re within the

rules to do just that.” He said ow-

ing to the volume of donations

the party receives, the number of

dual-party donors was not partic-

ularly notable.

People who max-out their indi-

vidual donations to both parties

are “hedging their bets” ahead of

the fall election, according to Duff

Conacher, the head of Democracy

Watch, an ethics watchdog.

“With those donations, they

are able to at least buy access to

the top people in the parties, and

having that access gives them a

chance to have influence over

their decisions,” Mr. Conacher

said.

Mr. Conacher also said that,

given the maximum donation is

so low, it made sense for those

looking for access to max-out

their contributions to both par-

ties.

After the Liberal government

was elected in 2015, it made a

pledge that “there should be no

preferential accessto government

or appearance of preferential ac-

cess, accorded to individuals or

organizations because they have

made financial contributions to

politicians and political parties.”

But the party soon faced criti-

cism for a series of fundraisers

that were attended by people lob-

bying thegovernment.

THECANADIANPRESS

Analysisshedslightonpoliticaldonations

Atleast20prominent

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maximumamountto

bothConservativesand

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CHRISTIANPAAS-LANGOTTAWA

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butdoingsoisunusual.CHRISYOUNG/THECANADIANPRESS

In his opening remarks, Mr. Yang
expressed support for the city’s
leader, Carrie Lam, and the po-
lice, who have come under criti-
cism for what protesters say is the
excessive use of force against
demonstrators. Later, another of-
ficial at the news conference, Xu
Luying, emphasized that the cen-
tral government would continue
to support Ms. Lam“in governing
under the law, and unifying and
leading Hong Kong people from
all walks of life to defend Hong
Kong’s political situation of pros-
perity and stability.”
Mr. Yang also said the Hong
Kong government should work
on addressing economic issues
including challenges with em-
ployment and schooling, a hous-
ing crisis and the rising cost of liv-
ing.
The news briefing appeared
aimed at dousing thewave ofop-
position in Hong Kong – the most
sustained challenge to China’s
hold over the territory since 1997,
when Britain returned it to Chi-
nese sovereignty.
By emphasizing its support for
Ms. Lam but also her responsib-
ility in upholding the law, central
government officials seemed to
indicate that it was now up to Ms.
Lam, her administration and the

police to put an end to the

months of strife.

The news briefing also ap-

peared aimed at signalling that

the ruling Communist Party in

Beijing is watching developments

in the territory very closely and

wants to frame the unrest as the

work of the party’s enemies, as

well as economic strains, and not

a result of failings in its policies

toward Hong Kong.

Willy Lam, an adjunct profes-

sor at the Center for China Studies

at the Chinese University of Hong

Kong, said the officials’ emphasis

on providing job and business op-

portunities in the mainland for

the youth of Hong Kong was Beij-

ing’s way of “throwing money at

the problem.”

“There was no sign of tackling

the crux of the issue, which is lack

of democratic development in

Hong Kong,” Prof. Lam said. “No

new solutions were provided.”

The cycle of protests and force-

ful police response continued

over the weekend. On Saturday

and Sunday, police fired tear gas

and rubber bullets at crowds of

demonstrators who had come

out to denounce a mob attack on

protesters and what they say is a

police force that acts without ac-

countability.

On Monday, the Chinese gov-

ernment defended the city’s po-

lice force. “We understand the

huge pressure facing the Hong

Kong police and their families,

and would like to salute the Hong

Kong police who have been fear-

lessly sticking to their posts and

fulfilling their duties against all

odds,” Mr. Yang said.

Mr. Yang also condemned the

violence of Saturday’s protest, in

which demonstrators ripped off

fences and moved steel barri-

cades to form blockades, and

threw hard objects at the police.

But Mr. Yang did not specifically

address the mob attack that had

prompted that rally in the first

place, deferring to earlier com-

ments from the police. He ap-

peared to dismiss as “unfounded”

the fears some have that orga-

nized crime societies are collud-

ing with authorities to carry out

political violence.

Reports in the Chinese state

news media have also defended

the Hong Kong police and even

urged them to take more forceful

measures.

“Hong Kong police must no

longer be like gentle nannies

when they’re enforcing the law,”

an editorial in the overseas edi-

tion of People’s Daily, the Com-

munist Party’s main newspaper,

said Monday.

NEWYORKTIMESNEWSSERVICE

PeopleinHongKongwatchasYangGuang,aspokesmanfortheChinesegovernment’sHongKongandMacau
AffairsOffice,speaksduringaBeijingpressconference.Thenewsbriefingseemedtobeaimedatstiflingthe
oppositioninHongKong.ANTHONYWALLACE/AFP/GETTYIMAGES

HongKong:NewsbriefingsuggestsBeijingis

watchingdevelopmentsinterritoryveryclosely

FROMA

RIODEJANEIROAt least 57 pris-
oners were killed by other in-
mates during clashes between
organized crime groups in the
Altamira prison in northern
Brazil Monday with 16 of the
victims being decapitated, ac-
cording to prison officials.
Para state prison authorities a
fight erupted around 7 a.m.,
between the Rio de Janeiro-
based Comando Vermelho and a
local criminal group known as
Comando Classe A.
“Leaders of the [Comando
Classe A] set fire to a cell belong-

ing to one of the prison’s pavil-

ions, where members of the

[Comando Vermelho] were

located,” the statement read.

State prisons chief Jarbas

Vasconcelos said the fire had

spread rapidly, with inmates

held in old container units that

had been adapted for the prison

while another building is under

construction.

The fire prevented police

forces from entering the build-

ing for several hours, he told a

news conference.

Two prison staff members

were held hostage, but eventu-

ally released.

“It was a targeted attack. The

aim was to show that it was a

settling of accounts between the

two groups, not a protest or

rebellion against the prison

system,” Mr. Vasconcelos said.

Authorities have not found

any firearms after the riot, only

makeshift knives.

Prison authorities said 46

inmates will be transferred to

other prisons, 10 of which will

go to stricter federal facilities.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

DOZENSOFINMATESDIEINBRAZILPRISONRIOT,OFFICIALSSAY

According to SEDI records, Cannamed sold 110,000 shares

that day for $8.77 apiece for gross proceeds of $964,854. SEDI

records show that from Nov. 20 through Dec. 12, Cannamed

sold another 620,000 shares for prices $7 to $8.50, grossing

$5.06-million.

CannTrust shares traded as high as $15.50 in the pot-stock

excitement before Canada legalized cannabis in October,

2018, but were part of the industry’s share-price slump that

followed. They’ve fallen from $6.46 the trading day before

CannTrust revealed the Health Canada problem on July 8 to

close at $2.86 on Monday.

As of May, according to CannTrust securities filings, Can-

named was 57 per cent owned by the Paul Family Trust,

which benefits the two children of Mr. Paul. The remainder

is held by corporations that CannTrust board member Mark

Litwin; his sister Risa; and Litwin’s father, Fred Litwin, own.

Messages left Monday afternoon on the cellphone voice-

mails of Mr. Paul, Mark Litwin and Fred Litwin were not

returned before publication.

The Litwins and Mr. Paul’s family, who were early backers

of CannTrust, have grossed millions on the sale of company

stock.

Forum Financial Corp., which is owned by Fred Litwin,

held more than 2.8 million shares of CannTrust when it

debuted on the Canadian Securities Exchange in August,

2017, but has gradually sold off nearly all of them, grossing

just less than $25-million, according to SEDI records. Fo-

rum’s most recent trade happened in September, 2018.

In late 2017 and early 2018, the Paul Family Trust sold

500,000 shares worth $4.5-million. SEDI records indicate it

still owns 6.3 million shares of CannTrust. Mr. Paul was the

company’s CEO from 2014 until October, 2018, when he

stepped aside for Mr. Aceto.

SEDI records show three companies owned by Mark and

Risa Litwin sold $11.8-million worth of shares from Decem-

ber, 2017, to September, 2018.

A family trust for Norman Paul, Eric’s brother and Cann-

Trust co-founder, sold $7-million worth of stock from Octo-

ber, 2017, to April, 2018.

And Cannamed sold US$34.5-million worth of CannTrust

shares in a May, 2019, offering of its recently listed New York

Stock Exchange shares.

The sale was part of a larger offering led by U.S. and Cana-

dian investment banks in May to raise US$195-million, be-

fore fees, for CannTrust.

In the prospectus that accompanied the May financing,

CannTrust referred to a 9,400-kilogram increase in produc-

tion in the preceding quarter, an increase of 96 per cent.

That increase happened at the same time the company was

growing thousands of kilograms of cannabis in unlicensed

rooms. Several financial analysts say the company will likely

be forced to destroy all of the product that was grown ille-

gally.

For the past several years, much of CannTrust’s financial

management has been handled by Forum Financial, which

has a service agreement with the cannabis grower to pro-

vide it with “various managerial, operational and adminis-

trative services, including services related to the corpora-

tion’s continuous disclosure and reporting requirements,”

according to CannTrust filings. In fiscal 2018, CannTrust paid

Forum $320,000 in management fees.

Forum also exercised considerable control over Cann-

Trust’s board. According to filings from 2017, Forum had the

right to appoint a majority of directors to Cannamed’s

board. Cannamed, in turn, had a monopoly on CannTrust

board appointments for a year after CannTrust went public

in the summer of 2017 through a voting trust with key share-

holders.

CannTrust

FROMA

TEENIDENTIFIEDASGUNMANINMASSSHOOTING

ATCALIFORNIAFOODFESTIVAL

GILROY,CALIF.A California teenager was identified by

police on Monday as the gunman who opened fire with an

assault rifle at a garlic festival in Gilroy, Calif., killing three

people, including two children.

Santino William Legan, 19, cut through a fence at the

festival on Sunday evening and shot people seemingly at

random with an “AK-47-style” assault rifle, Gilroy Police

Chief Scot Smithee told reporters. Mr. Legan was fatally

shot by three police officers armed with handguns.

Police were still trying to determine a motive for the

shooting and investigating unconfirmed reports by eye-

witnesses that Mr. Legan may have had an accomplice.

Mr. Legan killed a 6-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a

man in his 20s, Chief Smithee said. Police believe Mr. Le-

gan, who was originally from Gilroy, purchased the rifle

legally on July 9 in Nevada, where he had been living with

family members.

At least 12 people were injured, but it was unclear how

many of them were struck by gunfire. Police had initially

said that 15 people were injured.REUTERS

NEWS |