Taxes are our biggest expense, CannTrust's woes deepen, and more top news

The news Canadian professionals are talking about now, curated by LinkedIn’s editors. Join the conversation by clicking the hashtags below.

The average Canadian household paid more in taxes last year than it spent on housing, food and clothing combined, according to a study from the Fraser Institute. The public policy think tank found the average family earned $88,865, of which $39,299 — or 44.2% — went to taxes. Some $32,214 (36.3%) was spent on basic necessities. The study compared 2018’s figures with those of 1961, when the average Canadian family spent 33.5% of its income on taxes, and 56.5% went to basic necessities. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Canada’s largest securities regulator has launched an investigation into CannTrust. The cannabis producer, which is delaying its second-quarter results due to “significant uncertainty,” confirmed Thursday that the Ontario Securities Commission has opened a probe into the company. CannTrust is already being investigated by Health Canada after the company was found to have been growing cannabis in unlicensed rooms, with the authority seizing 5,200kg of harvested dried cannabis and CannTrust putting a voluntary hold on another 7,500kg. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Lowe's is letting go of thousands of workers at roughly 1,800 U.S. stores. The company plans to outsource its maintenance and assembly jobs to third parties. The home-improvement retailer told CNBC that the shift is to allow store associates more time "serving customers." Since Marvin Ellison took over as CEO in July 2018, Lowe’s has been closing stores to cut costs. According to a recent study, more than 7,000 U.S. store closures have been announced this year, with 12,000 expected by 2020. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Food delivery start-up DoorDash, whose controversial tip-collecting tactics recently prompted legal action from customers, is gobbling up rival Caviar. The deal, worth US$410 million, heightens "the already intense competition in food delivery," and provides DoorDash access to gourmet and fine dining eateries in 15 U.S. cities, which it previously lacked. DoorDash has found itself "locked in an increasingly intense fight" with Postmates, GrubHub and Uber Eats for diners, drivers and dining establishments. Caviar's previous owner was Twitter’s Jack Dorsey-run company Square. ? Here’s what people are saying.

If you feel like you’re being punished for being bullied at work, you’re not alone, according to a new study. The research shows that managers are likely to blame — and discount the performance of — employees who are mistreated by coworkers. Bosses are also prone to excuse perpetrators’ behavior if they are close to those employees or if they are top performers. Managers can guard against this behavior by thinking like a judge and separating facts from biases. ? Here’s what people are saying.

Idea of the Day: It’s better to focus on the greater outcome rather than how to divide that outcome up, advises Ray Dalio, co-CIO and co-chair of Bridgewater Associates.  

“The best negotiations are the ones with someone in which I say, “You should take more,” and they argue back, “No you should take more!” People who operate this way with each other make the relationship better and the pie bigger—and both bene?t in the long run.”

What's your take on today’s stories? Share your thoughts in the comments.

— Jessica Hartogs