A company executive sent an email to Eric Paul, CannTrust chairman, outlining the illegal operations on Nov. 16, 2018. That same day, Cannamed Financial, a holding company controlled by Paul and CannTrust director Mark Litwin, sold nearly $1 million in shares. Cannamed later sold another $5 million in shares. (Globe and Mail)

Talking point: Insider trading has been common at cannabis companies; insiders at some of Canada’s biggest marijuana companies sold $250 million worth of stock between July 1, 2017 and July 30, 2018, according to a Globe and Mail analysis. Trading by company executives and board members could be considered illegal if the insiders have confidential information about the corporation that could impact stock prices. CannTrust’s board forced Paul to resign last week, and fired its CEO, Peter Aceto. The company’s stock dropped to its lowest in two years on the news that Health Canada was investigating CannTrust for growing cannabis without a licence and ordered a hold on some product. Shares closed at $3.34 on the Friday after the news broke, down from its closing price of $6.46 one week before. The stock has continued to fall, closing at $2.82 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday.