Due to a number of factors, including the extent of available capital in the markets and the continued backstop provided by government programs designed to blunt the economic effects of the pandemic, 2021 was not the apocalypse many were predicting. Nevertheless, Canadian restructuring professionals and courts continued to confront and overcome issues in a number of important areas, including extraordinary first day relief, good faith and lack thereof, eligible financial contracts and liquidating Companies’ Creditors Arrangements Act (CCAA) proceedings.

Whether—and in what circumstances—a debtor should pay creditors a make-whole premium continues to be litigated in bankruptcy courts. Last week, as reported by Bloomberg, Judge Dorsey (Delaware) ruled that the debtor – Mallinckrodt Plc – did not need to pay a make whole premium to first lien lenders in order to reinstate such obligations under the debtor’s chapter 11 plan.

Many describe the United States as Canada's most important trade partner. Cross-border insolvency proceedings between the two jurisdictions are frequent and the recognition by one country's court of the other's bankruptcy orders is an important tool in facilitating the restructuring of companies with operations that spread across North America. A recent decision from the Ontario Court of Appeal (leave to appeal of which was denied by the Supreme Court of Canada) invites us to reflect on the delicate balance between comity for foreign orders and Canada's sovereignty over domestic laws.

Suppliers and subcontractors in the construction industry should be mindful of a recent unreported decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. In Carillion Canada Inc. (Re), the Court held that an automatic cash sweep of Carillion’s Ontario bank account rid the funds of their trust character leaving Carillion’s subcontractors in Canada with no proprietary claim to $22 million sitting in an overseas bank account maintained with a global bank (the “Bank”).

The Commercial List of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently granted an order structurally similar to a reverse vesting order in the receivership proceedings of Vert Infrastructure Ltd. (Vert). This first-of-its-kind order was granted on the motion of Vert’s receiver, KSV Restructuring Inc. (KSV).¹

Good afternoon.

Following are this week’s summaries of the Court of Appeal for Ontario for the week of June 14, 2021.

In Kelava v. Spadacini, the Court found that a Deputy Judge of the Small Claims Court has the jurisdiction to make a representation order relying on Rule 12 of the ordinary Rules of Civil Procedure by analogy. The overriding consideration in Small Claims Court matters is access to justice.

Davies Restructuring Review 2021: Issue 2 Contents Emerging Trends for the Short and Long Terms 01 Observations of Q1 2021 03 CCAA Proceedings 03 Business Bankruptcies and Proposals 05 Receiverships 07 A Trend to Watch: From BIA to CCAA 08 Case Example: Kanwal 08 Case Example: EncoreFX 09 A Spotlight on Government Involvement in CCAA Proceedings 09 Goals and Methods of Government Bankruptcy Activism 10 Case Example: Air Canada Inc.

In its recent decision in Atlas (Brampton) Limited Partnership v. Canada Grace Park Ltd., 2021 ONCA 221, the Ontario Court of Appeal (ONCA) clarified the requirements for foreclosure on investment property under the Personal Property Security Act (Ontario) (the PPSA).

Cryptocurrency has been recognized as “property” for the purposes of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) in Re Quadriga Fintech Solutions Corp. et al.,^[1]the first Canadian case of its kind.

Good afternoon.

Following are this week’s summaries of the civil decisions of the Court of Appeal for Ontario.