Graham Lee told the Ontario Court of Justice at the Toronto Courthouse that the activity had not been hidden or denied and had been discussed on several occasions, even with members of the management team.

His remarks come as three former cannabis company executives face a series of security breaches. The charges relate to unauthorized cultivation allegedly taking place in Niagara, Ontario at CannTrust, now Phoena Holdings, facilities.

Peter Aceto, Eric Paul and Mark Litwin pleaded not guilty to fraud and authorized the commission of a felony.

MM. Litwin and Paul also face insider trading charges, and gentlemen. Litwin and Aceto are accused of producing a false prospectus and false preliminary prospectus.

Mr. Aceto, who served as CannTrust’s CEO until his termination for cause in 2019, was aware of the crops and the duo discussed them during a 2018 meeting in Mr. Aceto’s office at CannTrust headquarters, Mr. Lee said .

At the time of the meeting, seedlings were already being grown in a room where it was not allowed, and there were plans to place other seedlings in another room without permission.

Mr Lee testified that Mr Aceto told him to go ahead with the plan because the company had “set an internal precedent” by already planting in unlicensed spaces.

Frank Addario, Mr Aceto’s attorney, has previously indicated that his client was hired because of his financial acumen and background – Mr Aceto was previously President and CEO of ING Direct Canada – and that the company was subject to financial inspections and audits which revealed none significant problems.

“The evidence will show that Peter Aceto acted lawfully and with integrity during his tenure with CannTrust,” said Mr.^e Addario in an email.

The lawyers of Mr. Paul and Litwin, former president and vice president of CannTrust, also claimed their customers were innocent. After the unlicensed cultivation was revealed, Mr. Paul was ordered to resign and Mr. Litwin resigned in March 2021.

Also involved in Mr Lee’s court appearance on Monday was Health Canada, whose officers inspected the facility, including one of the unauthorized rooms. Mr. Lee recalls that staff were told not to lie to inspectors and to answer questions from Health Canada staff honestly.

As inspectors left, Mr Lee wrote an email to other staff saying, “Very high level, we’ve dodged a few bullets but we’re also considering a full regulatory review” as Health Canada may see the increase in unlicensed cases spaces noticed .

However, Mr. Lee felt increasingly uncomfortable. As these events unfolded, he wrote emails to CannTrust management detailing areas of concern, including unlicensed cultivation.

His goal is to “create a paper trail” to “protect me,” he said.

He added that he wanted proof of this “because I felt like my reputation would have been tarnished pretty quickly.”