We know this publication is about dispute resolution, but what we really want to talk about in this article is avoiding insolvency and bankruptcy disputes.
“If Only You Had Come to Us Sooner”
With a number of Canadian companies seeking bankruptcy protection over the past few months, it has become apparent that the defined benefit pension plans sponsored by many of these companies are underfunded. As retirees and former employees protest their shrinking pensions, many are left asking how this all happened.
The long-awaited amendments to Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and Companies’ Creditors Arrangements Act (CCAA) came into force on September 18, 2009.
Summary of Some of the Key Personal Insolvency Related Amendments to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act INTRODUCTION
The bankruptcy and insolvency reforms passed by Parliament in 2005 and 2007 will at last come into force today, September 18th, 2009. While a small initial round of reforms dealing with employee wages were implemented in July 2008, today marks a more radical shift in Canadian insolvency law as the remaining amendments come into effect. The reforms will be applicable to any bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings started on or after today’s date. Key elements of the reforms will include:
Interim Financing, Administrative and D&O Charges
On September 18, 2009, amendments (the "Amendments") to the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (the "CCAA") and Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (the "BIA") came into force.
Often, when creditors start to take action against a debtor, the debtor will seek relief through the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act(i). Some Trustees in bankruptcy even advertise that the bankruptcy process can be an important step on the road to “financial well being”. Creditors, upon receiving notice of their Debtor’s bankruptcy, may feel that the chance of any recovery all but disappears with the assignment into bankruptcy.
Everyday, most of us in the United States encounter evidence of relentless economic globalization. Gone are the days when American-brand automobiles dominated our roads. As a result of NAFTA, fresh Mexican produce fills the shelves of our local supermarkets. You are perhaps just as likely to fly overseas on Japan Air Lines, Aer Lingus or Lufthansa as on Northwest-Delta, American or United.
Summary of Some of the Key Commercial Insolvency Related Amendments to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act
INTRODUCTION
Long-awaited amendments to Canada’s insolvency legislation came into force on September 18, 2009. The amendments materially reform both of Canada’s major insolvency statutes: the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (the “BIA”) and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (the “CCAA”). To a considerable degree the amendments codify 15 years of case law developments, but with modifications that could prove to be material in the next few years.