In a judgment rendered in the case of 9210-6905 Québec Inc. (proposal of),1 the Superior Court of Québec held that an interim receiver is not required to obtain a clearance certificate from the tax authorities before proceeding with the distribution of a debtor's property, and is not subject to personal liability for this reason.
In its decision in The Queen v. Callidus Capital Corporation1, rendered on August 17, 2015, the Federal Court of Canada examined, on a retrospective basis, the Crown's absolute priority regarding proceeds remitted to secured creditors from the assets of a tax debtor that are deemed to be held in trust (deemed trust) under section 222 of the Excise Tax Act (the "ETA") prior to such tax debtor's bankruptcy.
In Paul L. Schnier v. Her Majesty the Queen, the Tax Court of Canada dismissed the motion brought by the Respondent under Rule 53(3)(c) of the Tax Court of Canada Rules (General Procedure) to quash the appeal on the basis that the Appellant, who was an undischarged bankrupt at the time of filing his Notice of Appeal, had failed to obtain permission of the trustee in bankruptcy at the outset to initiate the appeal.
In Paul L. Schnier v. Her Majesty the Queen,[1] the Tax Court of Canada (TCC) dismissed a motion to quash an appeal brought on the basis that the appellant did not, as an undischarged bankrupt, have the capacity, pursuant to Section 71 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, to deal with property, including the ability to bring an appeal. The Appellant believed he was required to file the appeal, but did not obtain the trustee in bankruptcy’s permission when he commenced the appeal.
This article has been contributed by Martin Desrosiers and Julien Morissette, partner and associate respectively, in the Insolvency & Restructuring Group of
In a trust claim, it has become commonplace to seek a request for a declaration that, if there is judgment for breach of trust, the judgment will survive the subsequent bankruptcy of the judgment debtor. Will that request for relief ever be granted? This question was answered, in part, in B2B Bank v. Batson, a 2014 Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision.
Background
One of the primary reasons why people declare bankruptcy is that upon being discharged, the bankrupt person is released from their obligation to repay most of the debts that had existed at the time they went bankrupt. I say most because there are certain exceptions to this rule, debts that the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Actitemizes as debts not released by an order of discharge.
In a recent decision, the Ontario Superior Court clarified the test by which Ontario courts will recognize foreign bankruptcy proceedings.
The Tax Court of Canada recently confirmed in International Hi-Tech Industries Inc v The Queen, 2014 TCC 198, that in certain circumstances a secured creditor can commence or continue a tax appeal on behalf of a bankrupt estate.
On October 21, 2014, the Court of Appeal of Quebec rendered an important judgment in the matter of the bankruptcy of Sylvain Girard (500-09-024077-133), which will have a decisive impact in the handling of bankruptcy cases involving the tax authorities, namely the Agence du revenu du Québec (“ARQ”) and the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”).