National Business

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index capped its worst first quarter since at least the financial crisis more than a decade ago on an upswing caused by a rise in the energy sector. The key sector rose by 15.

Canadian grain is in high demand as shippers try to feed a growing appetite from mills and governments seeking to shore up staple reserves amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

TORONTO — Credit counsellor Pamela George is hearing from Canadians who feel lost amid the financial strife of COVID-19. After the Ottawa-based adviser began offering free phone consultations last month, the stories began to flow in.

Uncertainty looms across the country as the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic pushes the economy toward a recession that some expect to be worse than the 2008 financial crisis.

TORONTO — Canada's housing market could see a significant pullback this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but could rebound next year, a report by RBC says.

TORONTO — The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board says it earned a net return of 10.4 per cent last year with net assets reaching $207.4 billion. The pension fund manager says its investment income reached a record $20.2 billion as of Dec. 31.

BOSTON — A California woman was sentenced Tuesday to seven months in prison for paying bribes to rig her two daughters' college admissions exams and get one of them into Georgetown University as a fake tennis recruit.

VAUGHAN, Ont. — CannTrust Holdings Inc. says it has obtained protection from creditors under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act as it works resolve issues related the suspension of its licenses to produce and sell cannabis.

CALGARY — Imperial Oil Ltd. is reducing its spending for this year by $1 billion, including a $500-million cut to its capital spending plan as it deals with the COVID-19 pandemic and crash in oil prices.

OTTAWA — The federal government is waiving the monthly rent paid by airport authorities to Ottawa for the rest of the year as revenues plummet amid the COVID-19 pandemic.