​The Québec Superior Court recently rendered a judgment (Francis v. Adobe 2018 QCCS 2547) confirming that a bankrupt's debt may be declared non-releasable by a discharge order pursuant to section 178 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (the "Act"), even when said discharge order has not yet been rendered or when the bankrupt's discharge has been suspended or granted conditionally pursuant to section 173 of the Act.

​Canada v Callidus Capital Corporation

The plaintiffs in the underlying action, Art and Wendy Douglas, owned property in Kingston where there was an oil leak in January of 2008. The defendants, who had supplied the oil, sent an environmental clean-up company to remediate the property after being alerted of the leak. The plaintiffs' insurer, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company (the "Insurer"), ultimately indemnified the plaintiffs in full and paid for repairs, remediation, additional living expenses of Mr. Douglas, personal property and related damages totaling more than $800,000.

• On January 12, 2018, the Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”) delivered its judgment in North Shore Power Group Inc. v.

In the second of our mini-series on insolvency in construction, we consider what you need to do when you find out that the party you are in contract with has become (or is about to become) insolvent.

Who are you in contract with? Which specific entity?

The first thing you should do in the event of a counterparty's alleged insolvency is check which legal entity you are in a contract with.

This is in order to prevent you from acting too early and committing a repudiatory breach yourself, if you take pre-emptive action against your counterparty.

Les options pour le changement

À mesure que le marché évolue, sous la pression des forces concurrentielles et des demandes des clients, les entreprises doivent veiller de façon proactive à suivre la cadence. Elles peuvent rencontrer des difficultés opérationnelles qui sont des signes avant-coureurs de problèmes de viabilité à long terme. Comme la direction se concentre sur ses activités quotidiennes et les enjeux habituels de l’entreprise, il peut être difficile d’identifier les indicateurs de possibles problèmes opérationnels à venir et d’y répondre.

Create options for change

As companies face changes in their markets from competitive forces and customer demands, they also need to be proactive in ensuring their operations are up to the challenge. Companies will often experience operational issues that can be leading indicators for real viability concerns in the longer term. With management focused on day-to-day operations and business as usual matters, it can often be a challenge to identify and address indicators of potential operational stress ahead.

Insolvency is high on the agenda in the construction industry.

In the first of this mini series, we take a look at the meaning of insolvency and summarise the main insolvency processes that can typically affect parties involved in construction projects. The series will also address contract issues and minimising risk, so keep an eye out for our future articles on this topic.

Recent legislative amendments in Ontario are intended to protect construction subcontractors from the claims of other creditors in the event of insolvency. They impose a new requirement to maintain written records for trust funds that will be in effect as of July 1, 2018.

Weighing in at the intersection of bankruptcy law and the doctrine of subrogation, the Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that insurers are not entitled to commence subrogated claims in the name of bankrupt insureds.