Canada

A Manitoba First Nations business success story is showing signs of financial trouble, as one of its companies, Arctic Beverages Ltd., is seeking creditor protection, CBC News reported. Arctic Beverages, which bottles and distributes PepsiCo. and other products, has taken the first step to avoid bankruptcy, according to documents obtained by CBC News. The Winnipeg-based company filed a notice of intention last month to make a proposal to its creditors under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

An Ontario judge has awarded $85-million in damages to the creditors of long-defunct theatre company Livent Inc., ruling the firm’s auditors at Deloitte & Touche were negligent in their reviews of the company’s 1997 financial statements, The Globe and Mail reported. The critical ruling, released late Friday, marks a rare victory for creditors in a lawsuit against its auditors.

Sears Canada Inc said on Friday it will refund payments or offer alternative services to customers affected by the collapse of SHS Services Management Inc, which provided home-improvement services on behalf of Sears Canada, Reuters reported. SHS, which did installations such as roofing and window replacement, ceased operations and went into receivership late last year. It began operating Sears' home improvement business in March 2013. It is liquidating assets to repay creditors owed more than C$8.9 million ($7.91 million), according to the receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc.

Pet supply store Petcetera said Monday it plans to file for creditor protection in hopes of restructuring its operations, The Calgary Herald reported. The retailer, which has 18 stores across the country, also said it will cut the price on everything in its stores to help generate cash while it files its notice of intention to make a proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Petcetera has more than 300 employees in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

The TSX-listed stock of North American gold producer Veris Gold on Monday climbed after the company announced that a restructuring committee announced earlier this month was investigating strategic alternatives and to plan the financial restructuring of the company, Mining Weekly reported. The special committee had retained investment bank Raymond James & Associates as its sole investment banking advisor to provide financial advice concerning a variety of potential business transactions that may be undertaken in the course of the financial restructuring of the company.

Pressure is building on Mobilicity to lock down a deal with a buyer as one of its suppliers is now pushing for payment of $1.7-million in fees owing. Mobilicity, known formally as Data and Audio-Visual Enterprises (DAVE) Wireless, is under court protection from its creditors, but an order staying legal action against the carrier is set to expire on Feb. 26, the Financial Post reported. Amdocs Canadian Managed Services Inc. – the company that provides Mobilicity’s customer service and support systems – has filed a motion with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for that date.

Heenan Blaikie, a Canadian law firm well known for its labor and employment practice, said late on Wednesday its partners had voted to dissolve the firm in the face of financial pressures, making it the largest failure of a law firm in Canadian history, Reuters reported on a Canadian Lawyer story. The Montreal-based firm, which traces its roots back to the 1970s, said the move to wind down operations came after an in-depth analysis of its restructuring options in the current legal market.

Tuscany International Drilling Inc., a Canadian oil-field services company that operates in South America, sought U.S. bankruptcy court protection from creditors, citing heavy competition and slow payments from customers, Bloomberg News reported. The Calgary-based company listed assets and debt of as much as $500 million each in Chapter 11 papers filed today in Wilmington, Delaware. A Houston-based affiliated holding company also filed for bankruptcy.

Management at Bixi and all their employees received a total of $223,000 in salary bonuses in December, one month before the city-controlled bike-sharing service was forced to file for bankruptcy protection. The company is nearly $50 million in debt, most of which — $38 million — is owed to the City of Montreal, which advanced or guaranteed its loans, The Montreal Gazette reported.

A company which transformed a rooftop parkade into a mass-producing vegetable greenhouse — and touted by Mayor Gregor Robertson as an example of Vancouver’s “booming clean tech sector” — has filed for bankruptcy and owes its creditors more than $4 million, the Vancouver Courier reported. Bankruptcy records show Alterrus Systems Inc. and its subsidiary Local Garden Vancouver Inc. declared bankruptcy Jan. 21 after less than two years of operation at 535 Richards St.