On January 31, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its decision in Orphan Well Association, et. al. v. Grant Thornton Limited, et. al. – a case commonly known as Redwater.

In 2018, several insolvency cases were litigated that will be of interest to commercial lenders in restructuring and insolvency proceedings. This article summarizes the core issues of importance to lenders in each of these cases. Status updates on the cases reported in our 2017 roundup of key developments in Canadian insolvency case law are included at the end of this article.

May 25, 2018

PRIORITY OF HST DEEMED TRUSTS

Canada v.Toronto-Dominion Bank

The recent restructuring proceedings of Concordia International Corp. (Concordia) demonstrate that the arrangement provisions of the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) remain as a powerful tool for balance sheet restructurings in Canada. These provisions allow a company to submit a plan of arrangement for creditor and court approval in order to affect a balance sheet restructuring in a timely and efficient manner.

Retail Insolvencies in Canada Series, #4: Lender Perspectives

By Linc Rogers and Aryo Shalviri

This is the fourth and final instalment in a series examining large retail insolvencies in Canada from the perspective of various stakeholders. This article discusses retail insolvencies from the perspective of lenders to distressed Canadian retailers.

This article trails the successful emergence of Toys "R" Us Canada from Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) (CCAA) protection following the acquisition of its shares by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has published guidance on company voluntary arrangements (CVAs), setting out the issues that it expects to be considered and addressed. The new guidance will be relevant to companies who are considering a CVA which could affect a DB pension scheme, and to advisers working with those companies or with pension scheme trustees.

The government has published a consultation paper looking at ways to improve the framework surrounding companies in or approaching insolvency. The policy objective is to reduce the risk of major company failures and their impact on a wider range of stakeholders, including employees and company pension scheme beneficiaries.

In an article that first appeared in the Winter 2017 issue of RECOVERY, Matthew Tait, Partner at BDO, and Matt Hill, Senior Associate at Osborne Clarke, put together a blueprint for practitioners considering turnaround work.

Spanish Congress debates a legislative proposal (Propuesta de Ley) to reinforce the fight against late payment in response to the European Union demand for the correct implementation of the Insolvency Directive (2011/7/EU). This proposal would establish a penalty system against defaulting companies.

Justice R. Graesser of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (Court) recently released his decision in Royal Bank of Canada v.Reid-Built Homes Ltd. (Decision), where he held that the Court has the discretion, but not the obligation, to grant a super priority for receivers’ fees and disbursements ahead of the claims of secured creditors.

This is the third instalment in a series examining large retail insolvencies in Canada from the perspective of various stakeholders. This article discusses insolvencies from the perspective of corporate parents of distressed Canadian retailers.