Law 407 - Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Receivership

Course Description

Bankruptcy, Insolvency & Receivership (Law 407) examines three related areas of debtor-creditor law. Part 1 focuses on the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA). Students will learn about the invocation of bankruptcy, the property of a bankrupt that may be retained and the property taken by the trustee, the effect of bankruptcy on the rights of persons who have had dealings with a bankrupt, the effect of bankruptcy on family property law and secured transactions law, and the conditions under which a bankrupt may obtain a discharge of his or her debts. 

The use of insolvency systems contained in Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) and the BIA to either avoid or facilitate liquidation of business assets, or to reorganize the business as a going concern, has become common.  In Part 2 of the course, the central aspects of the structures and effects of Canada’s disparate insolvency systems are canvassed.

In Canada, receivership is a third structure in which insolvency is addressed. In this context, however, it is most commonly used as a mechanism to enforce broadly-based security interests in the property of business debtors. The special position of receivers and receiver-managers under The Personal Property Security Act (PPSA) and the BIA, are explored in Part 3 of the course.

Class Prize Winners

Treyton Pernitsky, 2024-25; Riley Cockwill, 2023-24; Troy Mack, 2022-23