2022 was an unprecedented year in insolvency practice. For as long as anyone can remember, there have always been several large corporate insolvency filings with national scope in each calendar year that hits the front page of the papers. But in 2022, there wasn’t even one.
Canadian tech companies have entered uncharted waters, with a range of factors threatening to produce a liquidity crunch for many of them.
For years, the tech sector enjoyed record volumes of venture capital investment fueled by low interest rates, an inflow of foreign and corporate investment, and the collective desire to create a vibrant tech ecosystem in Canada. As the economic tides have changed, with climbing interest rates and a looming recession, tech companies are facing an increasingly tough fundraising environment.
In what can only be described as a bitter pill to swallow for the professionals involved, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) (the “Court”) in Duca Financial Services Credit Union Ltd. v.
On July 2, 2020, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (the “Court”) released its decision in Hutchingame Growth Capital Corporation v.
On July 2, 2020, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (the “Court”) released its decision in Hutchingame Growth Capital Corporation v.
As the COVID scourge continues its march across the lives and livelihoods of Canadian individuals and businesses, the federal government has broken the glass and deployed into the economy a historically unprecedented amount of emergency funding in an effort to provide a financial bridge through the crisis to affected enterprises.
On March 26, 2020, leave to appeal the decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal (the “Alberta CA”) in Canada v. Canada North Group Inc.1 (“Canada North Group”) was granted by the Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC”).2 No reasons were given.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in widespread closures and suspension of operations, including within the justice system in Ontario. Ontario courts have issued a number of notices detailing the changes to regular court operations. In an effort to simplify the complicated situation already facing insolvency practitioners and their clients, we have summarized the current status of court operations germane to bankruptcy and insolvency matters.
Superior Court of Justice
On March 6, 2020, the Ontario Court of Appeal (the “OCA”) released its decision in Royal Bank of Canada v. Bodanis (“Bodanis”),1 holding that two debtors, each having an estate exceeding $10,000 in value, had appeals of their bankruptcy orders as of right under section 193 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act2(the “BIA”) and thus did not need to seek leave to appeal.
Section 193 reads as follows:
On December 30, 2019, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador (the “NLSC”) released its decision in Re Norcon Marine Services Ltd.1 (“Norcon Marine”), dismissing both an application by a debtor for continuance of its Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act2 (“BIA”) proposal proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act3 (“CCAA”) and a competing application by a secured creditor for the appointment of a receiver.