In Aquino (Re)1, the Court of Appeal for Ontario delivered a significant decision addressing several issues of importance to insolvency practitioners: the right to appeal a bankruptcy order without leave; the incidental authority of a CCAA monitor to seek a bankruptcy order against a judgment debtor; and—perhaps most notably—the continuation of a M
Several significant judicial decisions were released in 2025 that remain relevant to businesses, commercial lenders and restructuring professionals. This bulletin summarizes the key developments of 2025 and highlights areas of significance for restructuring professionals and market participants to monitor in 2026.
1. Hudson’s Bay Company and Assignment of Contracts
On January 26, 2026, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta (ABKB) held that the Alberta Department of Energy and Minerals (Alberta Energy) is required to first advance its claim for royalty arrears owed by an insolvent energy company within ongoing restructuring proceedings of that insolvent company, before seeking recovery from jointly liable solvent co-lessees.
Structuring royalties as interests in land can provide significant protection in subsequent insolvency proceedings, but a recent decision from the Court of Appeal of Alberta underscores that technicalities may trump intentions. In Invico Diversified Income Limited Partnership v.
The Alberta Court of King’s Bench (the Court) has delivered an important decision in the insolvency proceedings of Wolverine Energy and Infrastructure Inc. (WEI), voiding insider payments and imposing personal liability on a former executive. The ruling highlights the significant risks associated with insider transactions during financial distress and clarifies how courts apply statutory remedies under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA), the Fraudulent Preferences Act (FPA), and the Statute of Elizabeth (SOE).
In the recent decision of AlphaBow Energy Ltd. (Re) (“AlphaBow”),[1] the Alberta Court of King’s Bench dismissed AlphaBow’s application to stay the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (“AER”) request for a security deposit for the duration of its restructuring proceedings.
Background
Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) is designed to give “honest, but unfortunate debtors” a “fresh start” by automatically staying litigation and dealing with the bankrupt’s debts and liabilities in an orderly fashion. But what if the bankrupt was dishonest? Should they be entitled to have litigation stayed and their debts discharged? The BIA contains tools to address this.
On July 31, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada provided clarity regarding the treatment of administrative monetary penalties and disgorgement orders resulting from securities violations in Poonian v. British Columbia (Securities Commission).
As we enter 2025, we look back on five important decisions that made the news in 2024. Here is the the first case.