The Ontario Court of Appeal has approved a creative use of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) designed to unfreeze the $32-billion Canadian market for asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP).

As has been widely publicized, the Canadian ABCP market froze in August 2007 as a result of concerns in world credit markets arising from the US subprime mortgage crisis. After the market froze, a Pan-Canadian Investors Committee was formed to attempt to restructure it.

The Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Saulnier v. Royal Bank of Canada on October 24, 2008. The decision provides welcome clarification concerning the nature of government licenses and confirms that at least certain kinds of licenses constitute property for the purposes of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (the “BIA”) and for the purposes of Canadian personal property security legislation. The decision is also important because it takes a purposive and commercial approach to the interpretation of bankruptcy and personal property security legislation.

The Ontario Court of Appeal recently held that Royal Bank of Canada ("RBC") was unperfected as against a trustee in bankruptcy (the "Trustee"), because RBC failed to comply with section 48(3) of the Personal Property Security Act (Ontario) (the "PPSA") by failing to file a financing change statement to reflect a change of the debtor’s name after assets of the debtor were sold by a court appointed interim receiver.

In the recent case of Re I. Waxman & Sons Limited (“Waxman”), the Ontario Superior Court of Justice reviewed the treatment in Canada of the doctrine of equitable subordination. Developed in American jurisprudence, the doctrine permits the claims of one creditor to be subordinated to the claims of another or other creditors of equal rank if circumstances warrant, on the basis of the equitable jurisdiction of the court.

On Tuesday, June 5, 2012 the Supreme Court of Canada heard an appeal of the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Re IndalexLimited (“Indalex”). The Indalex decision concerned, among other things, the priority of a deemed trust for certain unpaid pension amounts over the super-priority charge granted in favour of a DIP Lender.

The Delaware Supreme Court’s recent decision in North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation, Inc. v. Gheewalla1 addresses the fiduciary duties of corporate directors in Delaware. In affirming a lower court decision by the Delaware Court of Chancery,2 the Delaware Supreme Court held that creditors of a Delaware corporation that is insolvent or in the “zone of insolvency” have no right to bring direct claims for breach of fiduciary duty against directors.

On July 31, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Poonian v. British Columbia (Securities Commission), on whether financial sanctions imposed by securities regulators are dischargeable through bankruptcy. The decision resolves a conflict between Alberta and B.C. jurisprudence and will have a significant impact on the treatment of all administrative orders in bankruptcy proceedings.

The facts

Individuals undergo bankruptcy proceedings for many reasons, chief among them to seek relief from their debts and obtain a fresh financial start. However, the opportunity for a fresh start can be limited when the bankrupt’s debts arise from securities fraud. In the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision in Poonian v.

On October 18, 2023, the Québec Court of Appeal confirmed the Superior Court’s authority to declare that court-ordered charges under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) rank before deemed trusts in favour of the Crown for deductions at source.

On December 6, 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada heard the appeal of Poonian v British Columbia Securities Commission, 2022 B