This article has been contributed to the blog by Mary Paterson, Dave Rosenblat and Waleed Malik.

In a recent decision, the Ontario Superior Court clarified the test by which Ontario courts will recognize foreign bankruptcy proceedings.

We are asked from time to time to assist with the dissolution of an existing registered charity.  However, often we suggest to our clients that it might be better for them to either amalgamate the existing charity into another charity or keep it in existence but inactive.

There are various reasons why charities wish to dissolve.  Sometimes the problem that they were established to address has been solved.  Sometimes there is no leadership left to govern or manage the charity.  Other times the work once done by the charity has been taken over by another charity.

While it is common practice in Canada to seek certain emergency orders on an ex parte basis (i.e. where only one party (and not the adversary) appears before a judge), applicants for such orders are held to a high standard of candour with the court.

Many secured creditors see their position in absolute terms. They rely on their general security and aggressively assert their priority over unsecured creditors, such as trade creditors. However, a recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal(306440 Ontario Ltd. v. 782127 Ontario Ltd. (Alrange Container Services), 2014 ONCA 548) demonstrates that creative arguments by trade creditors may allow them to take priority over even secured creditors in certain circumstances, by using trust principles to remove assets from the estate.

This article has been contributed to the blog by Patrick Riesterer and Waleed Malik.

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.

This article has been contributed to the blog by Andrea Lockhart, an Associate in the Insolvency and Restructuring Group of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, and Mary Angela Rowe, an Articling Stu

This article first appeared in the December 2014 edition of Corporate Rescue & Insolvency journal. Written by Deepak Reddy in Dentons' New York office, Carlo Vairo in Dentons’ Toronto office and Alexander Hewitt in Dentons' London office.

Key Points

In his November 20, 2014 decision in CanaSea PetroGas Group Holdings Limited (Re), Sharpe J.A. of the Ontario Court of Appeal did not accept the respondents’ submissions that he should decline to hear an application for leave to appeal a CCAA decision because only a three-judge panel should hear such an application.