In Essar Steel Algoma Inc. (Re), Justice David Brown of the Ontario Court of Appeal held that the ambit of orders “made under” the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-36 (the “CCAA”), and thus requiring leave to be appealed, is broad. Though concluding that the appellant in this case required leave to appeal, he nonetheless ordered the leave motion be expedited.
The long-running conflict between insolvency professionals and the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) that was (temporarily) clarified by the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta decision in Redwater Energy Corp. was previously analyzed in a blog post
In his decision in Global Royalties Limited v. Brook, Chief Justice Strathy of the Ontario Court of Appeal explained that the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (“BIA”) does not provide a bankrupt with a right to appeal an order lifting a stay of proceedings against him. Despite there being a multi-party bankruptcy, he rejected the submission that “the order or decision is likely to affect other cases of a similar nature in the bankruptcy proceedings”.
On May 18, 2016, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta released its much anticipated decision in Re Redwater Energy Corporation, 2016 ABQB 278, which addressed the Oil and Gas Conservation Act (OGCA), the Pipeline Act and the
Introduction
On April 20, 2016, the Canadian federal government introduced Bill C-15, which is legislation that provides for, among other things, a bank recapitalization or “bail-in” regime for domestic systemically important banks (“D-SIBs”).
BAIL-IN
In Walchuk Estate v. Houghton, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed a motion to quash an appeal on the basis that the lower court’s adjournment of a contempt motion was a final order. The decision also provides guidance, yet again, on the proper test for distinguishing between final and interlocutory orders.
Background
The treatment of shareholder and other equity-related claims in the context of insolvency and reorganization proceedings in Canada was initially judge-determined and the case law generally accepted the premise that shareholders were not entitled to share in the assets of an insolvent corporation until after all the ordinary creditors have been paid in full. In 2009 further clarity was brought to the issue by introduction of the “
The media have been paying considerable attention to the current financial distress of the energy industry in Alberta, focusing primarily on the impact a company’s financial condition can have on its stakeholders, including its employees, shareholders and creditors. But there is another group that is also being affected: counterparties to commercial arrangements with insolvent companies. Increasingly, financially strong companies are having to deal with insolvent joint venture partners, financially distressed operators, and bankrupt lessees.
There are a number of similarities between restructuring legislation in Canada and the United States. Each of Canada and the United States have adopted a form of the UNCITRAL Model Law Cross-Border Insolvency in order to facilitate cooperation and efficient administration of cases with an international component. In Canada this has occurred through implementation of both Part XIII of the