CannTrust Holdings Inc., the troubled Canadian cannabis producer whose former executives have been charged with fraud, is preparing to wind down if it can’t find a way to fix a default by the end of the month, Bloomberg News reported. The Vaughan, Ontario-based company breached a minimum earnings covenant on its C$22.5 million ($17.7 million) bankruptcy loan, and is currently in negotiations with potential investors and strategic partners over ways to address the default and its liquidity shortfall, according to a Thursday statement.

A Canadian restaurant that’s made headlines for bucking COVID rules has filed for bankruptcy, the Toronto Star reported. Nique Restaurant Inc. filed for an “assignment in bankruptcy” on Dec. 29, 2021, according to a notice of insolvency that ran in The Spectator on Wednesday. The notice provides few details about the bankruptcy, but notes that the first meeting of creditors of the business will be held later this month in Burlington.

Canada's Centerra Gold on Monday confirmed it was in talks with the Kyrgyzstan government for an out-of-court settlement over a dispute in which the state seized the company's Kumtor mine, Reuters reported. In May 2021, Centerra kicked off arbitration against the former Soviet republic after it took over the country's biggest mine for allegedly posing danger to human lives or the environment. The company also froze the government's stake when it seized the mine, meaning it does not have voting rights, nor is it entitled to dividends.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is expanding the number of businesses that can use Covid-19 aid programs as the omicron variant fuels a surge in cases and new restrictions in Canada, Bloomberg News reported. At a press conference with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau said companies and individuals affected by new capacity limits will be eligible for extended financial help. Firms can receive wage and rent subsidies of 25% to 75% depending on how much revenue they’ve lost, the government said in a statement.

Canada's second most populous province of Quebec ordered bars, gyms and casinos shut on Monday and directed people to work only from home to fight the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Reuters reported. Health minister Christian Dube said the province had a record 4,500 new cases of the coronavirus a day and predicted worse was yet to come. He urged Quebecers to cut down their personal contacts with the approach of Christmas and New Year's Day. The new measures were due to take effect at 5 p.m. (2200 GMT) on Monday. "The situation is critical ...

The Archdiocese of St. John’s in New Foundland says that it may be forced to file for creditor protection under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, SaltWire.com reported. “This action, if pursued, is intended to provide the archdiocese with additional time to complete the evaluation of our assets, formally call for claims against the archdiocese, and develop a proposal for our creditors to settle victims’ claims and creditor liabilities," Archbishop Peter Hundt said in a statement released Sunday, Dec. 19.

Cineworld Group Plc plunged as much as 40% after a court ordered the world’s second-largest cinema chain to pay nearly $1 billion in damages -- more than its entire market value -- over an aborted takeover bid, Bloomberg News reported. A Canadian court ordered the British company to pay the money on Tuesday after it scrapped a plan to buy Toronto-based Cineplex Inc. as the pandemic forced entertainment venues to close. The $1.6 billion deal would have made Cineworld North America’s largest movie-theater operator.

The Bank of Canada will likely need to lower rates to their effective lower bound (ELB) more often in the future and will therefore have to use alternative stimulus to a greater extent to tackle shocks, Governor Tiff Macklem said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Macklem, in a virtual speech to a business audience, said the low global interest rate environment meant the bank would have to rely on tools like forward guidance and quantitative easing more often going forward. "A lower neutral interest rate means we are likely to need to use these policy tools more often in the future.

Canada dramatically hardened its tone with Washington in a dispute over proposed U.S. credits for electric vehicles on Friday, threatening to slap tariffs on a range of American goods unless the matter was resolved, Reuters reported. In a letter to senior members of the U.S. Senate, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Trade Minister Mary Ng also said Canada was ready to launch a dispute settlement process under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade deal.

In the aftermath of disastrous floods last month that cut off Canada's main port, Ottawa will convene a summit of industry figures and shippers to discuss strengthening supply chains, a government source said on Sunday, Reuters reported. The event will take place in early 2022. Canadian transportation supply chains have been badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the floods and landslides in the Pacific Coast province of British Columbia.