A recent report in Blacklock’s Reporter contends a Liberal MP was listed as a Director at a cannabis producer that owes the Canada Revenue Agency more than $2 million in unpaid taxes and other deductions. 

The federal parliamentary secretary for emergency preparedness, Liberal MP Yasir Naqvi (Ottawa Centre), was a director of Eve & Co in the past year, drawing employment income from the federally-licensed cannabis producer. 

Naqvi joined the Eve & Co board in 2020 and was elected as an MP in September 2021. According to one source close to the file, Naqvi left his role with the company prior to these bankruptcy filings. In October 2021, Jeannette VanderMarel replaced Yasir Naqvi on the board of directors. Naqvi resigned as a result of his election as a member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre in the recent federal election.

Naqvi, is also a former Ontario attorney general, and in this role helped oversee the province’s creation and launch of its cannabis sales program.

In March, Eve & Co filed for bankruptcy protection in the Ontario Superior Court. 

According to court records, Eve & Co owed the Canada Revenue Agency $1.9 million along with another $1,434,051 in unpaid excise tax, $267,932 in GST, and $206,660 in unremitted Canada Pension Plan payments and other employee deductions.

According to court documents, the producer also owes the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) $17.5 million on the mortgage of their Ontario facility, among several other creditors. The total debt is listed as $7,049,329.31.

According to Blacklocks, Eve & Co did not disclose what payments were made to Naqvi in his role as a company director.

H/T to Westernstandardonline.com