On February 12, 2019, the Court of Appeal of Alberta (Court) released its long-anticipated decision in Northern Sunrise County v. Virginia Hills Oil Corp. (Virginia Hills).

On February 4, 2019, the Quebec Court of Appeal (Court of Appeal) ruled in the restructuring proceedings of Bluberi Gaming Technologies Inc., now 9354‑9186 Québec Inc., et al. (Bluberi) that under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) (CCAA), creditors have a right to vote in their own self-interest. In so doing, the Court of Appeal reversed the lower court’s decision.

In a recent Bennett Jones Update—Property Tax Priorities in Alberta Insolvency Proceedings: Current Uncertainty—we discussed three recent decisions of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta that had addressed the question of the priority of municipal property taxes in insolvency proceedings.

PLAN SPONSOR ENTITLED TO VOTE AS CREDITOR AND CREDITOR APPROVAL REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT LITIGATION FUNDING AGREEMENT.

On January 31, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Orphan Well Association v. Grant Thornton Ltd., popularly known as Redwater. In a 5-2 split decision, a majority of the Supreme Court allowed the appeal and held that the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER/Regulator) assertion of its statutory enforcement powers over an insolvent licensee’s assets does not create a conflict with the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) as to trigger the constitutional doctrine of federal paramountcy.

On February 1, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its highly anticipated decision in the Orphan Well Association, et al. v. Grant Thornton Limited, et al, 2019 SCC 5 (Redwater).

In a landmark decision released on January 31, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruled in Orphan Well Association v Grant Thornton Ltd. that the environmental remediation obligations of a bankrupt oil and gas company must be fulfilled in priority over all other claims, including secured claims. In addition to immediate effects to creditors of Alberta oil and gas interests, creditors of all sectors will want to analyze the implications of this case.

Background

Dans une décision historique rendue dans l’affaire Orphan Well Association c Grant Thornton Ltd. qui a été publiée le 31 janvier 2019, la Cour suprême du Canada (la « CSC ») a conclu que les obligations d’assainissement environnemental d’une société pétrolière et gazière en faillite doivent être satisfaites avant toutes les autres obligations, y compris les obligations garanties. Outre les créanciers du secteur pétrolier et gazier de l’Alberta qui sont directement touchés par la décision, les créanciers de tous les secteurs ont intérêt à bien en analyser les conséquences.

In 2017, the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld the lower court’s decision that the BIA prevailed over a conflicting provision in the provincial regulations promulgated by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER).

The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) has released its decision in Orphan Well Association v.