A second B.C. company has said Heath Canada has given it the green light to possess, produce, sell and distribute cocaine, among other substances, to “bring a safer supply of drugs to the global market.”
Sunshine Earth Labs, a biosciences company in Victoria, said Health Canada has granted them three amendments in the past seven months, to include MDMA, cocaine/coca leaf, opium, morphine and diacetylmorphine, into their dealers licence.
Health Canada made the latest amendment allowing the company to legally possess, produce, and sell cocaine on Jan. 12.
“We are incredibly proud of the progress we have made in the last year,” said Donovan Edwards, Sunshine’s CEO, in a press release.
“Since inception, we have been proactively pursuing amendments to our Dealer’s License to include MDMA, Coca Leaf, Cocaine, Opium, Morphine, and Diacetylmorphine to position ourselves as a legitimate safer supply partner.
“We will continue to work on securing global trade relationships to import ethically sourced medical products for safer supply.”
Sunshine Labs gave an update statement on Friday, which falls directly in line with comments made by Health Canada late Thursday.
3:21 Heated debate in B.C. legislature over ‘commercialization’ of hard drugs
It said its “regulated activities” fall under tight limitations imposed by Health Canada.
The sale of substances can only occur under specific guidelines of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Sales are only allowed to another licensed dealer, pharmacist, practitioner, or hospital employee provided they have the necessary Health Canada Licence.
On Thursday, Global News reported a Langley-based lab, Adastra Labs, said it was granted amendments to its dealer licence to “interact” with up to 250 grams of cocaine (nearly nine ounces), to import coca leaves to manufacture and synthesize the substance.
It said it received its approval from Health Canada on Feb. 17.
“We will evaluate how the commercialization of this substance fits in with our business model at Adastra in an effort to position ourselves to support the demand for a safe supply of cocaine.”
On Friday, Adastra labs retracted that previous statement.
“The Dealer’s Licence issued to Adastra Labs does not permit Adastra Labs to sell coca leaf, psilocybin or cocaine to the general public,” Adasta staff said in a release.
“For cocaine, and under the Dealer’s Licence, Adastra Labs is only permitted to sell to other licensed dealers who have cocaine listed on their licence including pharmacists, practitioners, hospitals, or the holder of a section 56(1) exemption for research purposes under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA).
“The company is not currently undertaking any activities with cocaine under the Dealer’s Licence and before doing so, it will only undertake such activities legally permitted by the Dealer’s Licence and after consultation with applicable Provincial Governments.”
On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “as surprised” as B.C. Premier David Eby to hear of the granted amendment to Adastra Labs by Health Canada.
“I was as surprised as the premier of British Columbia was to see that a company was talking about selling cocaine on the open market or commercializing it,” Trudeau said on Friday.
“There are limited and very restricted permissions for certain pharmaceutical companies to use that substance for research purposes for very specific, narrowly prescribed medical purposes.
“It is not a permission to sell it commercially or provide it on an open market.”
Trudeau went on to say the federal government is working quickly with Adastra to correct the misunderstanding, which was reflected in the company’s Friday release.
Also on Friday, Eby gave further comment regarding his reaction to the Health Canada decisions.
“I am also wondering what the intention of Health Canada was in granting these licences, especially to a company that significantly misrepresented the nature of the licence in a press release,” he said at a press conference.
“We are following up with Health Canada to get answers for British Columbians about this.
Eby went on to say the federal and B.C. governments need to be in lock step in regards to addressing toxic drug supply and addiction issues.
Health Canada did confirm on Friday that Sunshine Labs has received amendments to their Dealers Licenses to include cocaine.
The national authority reiterated that both Adastra Labs and Sunshine Labs cannot sell any controlled substances to the general public, as well.
Late Thursday, Health Canada provided an emailed response to Global News.
“Adastra Labs is licensed by Health Canada for this controlled substance for scientific and medical purposes only.”
Health Canada reiterated the permission to sell will be only allowed to other licence holders, who have cocaine listed on their licence, pharmacists, hospitals, or the holder of a section 56(1) exemption for research purposes.
“Health Canada thoroughly reviews applications to ensure that all the appropriate policies and procedures are in place to maintain public health, safety and security,” Health Canada said.
“If the strict requirements are not being followed, Health Canada will not hesitate to take action, which may include revoking the licence.”
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
