Century Services Inc. v. Canada (Attorney General), 2010 SCC 60

Section 222(3) of the Excise Tax Act creates a deemed trust for unremitted GST, which operates despite any other act of Canada, except the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. However section 18.3(1) of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (the "CCAA") provides that any statutory deemed trust in favour of the Crown does not operate under the CCAA, subject to certain exceptions which do not mention GST.

The Supreme Court of Canada recently ruled in the Century Servicesi case that Goods and Services Tax (“GST”) deemed trusts under the federal Excise Tax Act (“ETA”) are ineffective in proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (“CCAA”).

Outdoor Broadcast Networks Inc (Re), 2010 ONSC 5647

The debtor had filed a notice of intention to make a proposal (“NOI”) to its creditors under the BIA. It was proposing to immediately sell certain assets in Ontario and BC to help it fund its proposal. As the proposal had not yet been made, the debtor was the one selling assets out of the ordinary course, and the sale was subject to the Ontario Bulk Sales Act. That Act does not apply to sales by bankruptcy trustees, receivers, sheriffs, or other liquidators for the benefit of creditors.

Century Services Inc. v. Canada (Attorney General), [2010] S.C.C.A. No. 259, on appeal from (2009) 319 D.L.R. (4th) 735 (BCCA)

The union on behalf of the unionized employees of Ted Leroy Trucking Ltd., the bankrupt employer, had applied to the B.C.S.C. for directions and obtained a decision of that Court that the “wages” protected under the WEPPA “superpriority” for unpaid employees included amounts paid by the employer to third parties on behalf of the employees.

MARY BUTTERY WINS IMPORTANT CASE FOR CENTURY SERVICES INC.

Introduction

The decision of the Supreme Court of Canada last month in Century Services Inc. v. Canada1 is of striking interest to the tax and insolvency bars. The Court considered Crown priorities, in particular, the various “deemed trust” provisions found in section 227 of the Income Tax Act (Canada),2 section 86 of the Employment Insurance Act,3 section 23 of the Canada Pension Plan (the “CPP”)4 and in particular section 222 of the Excise Tax Act (GST Portions).5

Last month, I appeared before the federal government’s Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology to convey our concerns regarding Bill C-501,An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and other Acts (pension protection), which if passed will alter the status of

SCC Docket No. 33797, Leave granted 25 November 2010

Bankruptcy and Insolvency—Companies' Creditors Arrangements Act—Provincial Obligations

On November 25, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal in Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador v. Abitibibowater Inc., et al.

In May of 2010, we reported on the decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Ted Leroy Trucking v. Century Services Inc. In that decision, the Court of Appeal upheld a decision of the B.C.

One of the primary objectives of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (“BIA”) is to provide the bankrupt with an opportunity to stay existing creditors and establish a financial “clean slate”. The stay imposed on existing creditors includes creditors with causes of action existing at the time the bankruptcy is initiated. As a result, bankrupts can cause a halt to any existing or potential litigation by assigning themselves into bankruptcy.