Commercial Insolvency in Canada, 5th Edition

Commercial Insolvency in Canada, 5th Edition by Kevin McElcheran provides a practical, integrated analysis of Canadian insolvency law, including bankruptcy, receivership, restructuring, claims priorities, creditor remedies, director and officer duties and obligations, and cross-border insolvencies. It describes Canadian Insolvency law as a matrix of processes that together provide effective rights and remedies for the key participants in commercial insolvency proceedings, including debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, employees, directors, officers and other stakeholders.

The first two introductory chapters form the basis of discussion of the position of each group of constituents of the insolvent debtor that follows in subsequent chapters. The last chapter overlays an outline of Canada’s version of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law for recognizing and giving effect to foreign insolvency proceedings in Canada as well as an analysis of cross-border restructuring proceedings based in Canada.

Commercial Insolvency in Canada, 5th Edition continues the practical approach of earlier editions and proceeds from the basic premise that all persons interested in or affected by commercial insolvency are entitled to be treated with respect in the insolvency process and are entitled to participate in the process effectively to pursue their legitimate interests.

What’s New In This Edition

• Discussion of amendments to the 2019 Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), plus related case law
• Updates to Chapter 2 addressing the BIA and CCAA amendments enacted through Bill C-228, the Pension Protection Act, including implications of enhanced pension-claim protection for the restructuring business with pension deficiencies
• Updates to Chapter 5 addressing the judicially created remedy of Reverse Vesting Orders (RVOs) and the developing jurisprudence in this area, exploring the implications for restructuring practice and creditor democracy
• Discussion of new cases such as Harte Gold (2022), CannaPiece (2023) and Cleo Energy (2025), and their analysis of RVOs
• Discussion of new Supreme Court of Canada cases, including Canada v. Canada North Group Inc. (2021) on CCAA court-ordered priority charges and federal deemed trusts, and Chandos Construction Ltd. v. Deloitte Restructuring Inc. (2020) on the anti-deprivation rule

Who Should Read This Book

• Corporate/commercial lawyers who advise businesses facing bankruptcy or insolvency issues
• In-house counsel at a company facing bankruptcy or insolvency issues
• Lenders, insolvency, restructuring and turnaround professionals, and distressed debt investors who require an informational resource to assist with navigating day-to-day issues affecting clients
• Law libraries who want to provide comprehensive research resources for their patrons
• Law Students studying bankruptcy and insolvency law