| Winding-up and Restructuring Act | |
|---|---|
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| Parliament of Canada | |
| Citation | R.S.C., 1985, c. W-11 |
| Enacted by | Parliament of Canada |
| Enacted | 1985 |
| Status: In force | |
The Winding-up and Restructuring Act [1] (French : Loi sur les liquidations et les restructurations, WURA) is a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provides for the winding up of certain corporations and the restructuring of financial institutions. It was passed in 1985, and has been amended since. Predecessors of the act date back to 1882.
Following the 1880 repeal of Canadian insolvency law at the federal level, [2] the Parliament of Canada returned to the field in 1882, passing legislation "for the purpose of winding-up insolvent banks, and insolvent trading companies," known as An Act respecting Insolvent Banks, Insurance Companies, Loan Companies, Building Societies and Trading Corporations. [3] [4] Until the passage of the Bankruptcy Act in 1919, [5] it was the only federal statute governing insolvency, and it only extended to corporations. The 1919 Act covered individuals and corporations, so corporations were given a choice as to how to proceed with the liquidation of their affairs.
In 1899, provision was made for compromises and arrangements to be made during winding-up proceedings, subject to the approval by the creditors and the court. [6] [lower-alpha 1]
In 1966, bankruptcy proceedings were given precedence over winding-up proceedings, [8] and any of the latter instituted prior to a bankruptcy petition or assignment coming into effect had to be abated forthwith. [9]
In 1996, the Act was retitled as the Winding-up and Restructuring Act, [10] and provision was made for the restructuring of insurance companies. [11]
| The Act applies to: | excepting for: | where any of those bodies are: |
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A company is deemed insolvent when: [16]
The Act cannot be used when proceedings have already been instituted under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act , [18] but it is the only route for insolvent financial institutions to take, as they are not covered by the BIA. [19]
It also offers a little-used route for corporations (other than those governed by the CBCA, CCoopA or CNPCA) to seek liquidation or winding-up that does not necessarily call for being insolvent (except for provincially incorporated companies, where the insolvency requirement is mandatory). [20] Companies for which there is no provision for winding-up either within their native statutes or under applicable provincial legislation [21] comprise those incorporated under: [22]
The WURA contains several provisions that stand in contrast to the BIA:
In Coopérants, Mutual Life Insurance Society (Liquidator of) v Dubois, [35] the Supreme Court of Canada held that a liquidator appointed under the Act was conceptually distinct from a trustee in bankruptcy appointed under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act :
Contrary to what occurs in the case of bankruptcy, the company continues to own its property, which is not transferred to the liquidator. Under s. 33 of the Winding‑up Act, the liquidator takes all the company's property, effects and choses in action "into his custody or under his control"... [36] The liquidator is an officer of the court, appointed by the court to perform the functions prescribed by the Act and exercising his powers and performing his duties under the court's supervision. The corporate state and all the powers of the corporation continue after a winding‑up order is made; but from the time of such order the corporation is to cease to carry on business, except in so far as the liquidator considers it necessary for its beneficial winding up (s. 19). Even then, the liquidator must have the court's approval to do so under s. 35. [37]
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor.
Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation. The process of liquidation also arises when customs, an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties, determines the final computation or ascertainment of the duties or drawback accruing on an entry.
In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company (debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be insolvent. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet insolvency.
An officer of the Insolvency Service of the United Kingdom, an official receiver (OR) is an officer of the court to which they are attached. The OR is answerable to the courts for carrying out the courts' orders and for fulfilling their duties under law. They also act on directions, instructions and guidance from the service's Inspector General or, less often, from the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act is one of the statutes that regulates the law on bankruptcy and insolvency in Canada. It governs bankruptcies, consumer and commercial proposals, and receiverships in Canada.
In law, a liquidator is the officer appointed when a company goes into winding-up or liquidation who has responsibility for collecting in all of the assets under such circumstances of the company and settling all claims against the company before putting the company into dissolution. Liquidator is a person officially appointed to 'liquidate' a company or firm. Their duty is to ascertain and settle the liabilities of a company or a firm. If there are any surplus, then those are distributed to the contributories.
As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions, similar to bankruptcy in the United States. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – in the United Kingdom colloquially called being "under administration" – is an alternative to liquidation or may be a precursor to it. Administration is commenced by an administration order.
United Kingdom insolvency law regulates companies in the United Kingdom which are unable to repay their debts. While UK bankruptcy law concerns the rules for natural persons, the term insolvency is generally used for companies formed under the Companies Act 2006. Insolvency means being unable to pay debts. Since the Cork Report of 1982, the modern policy of UK insolvency law has been to attempt to rescue a company that is in difficulty, to minimise losses and fairly distribute the burdens between the community, employees, creditors and other stakeholders that result from enterprise failure. If a company cannot be saved it is liquidated, meaning that the assets are sold off to repay creditors according to their priority. The main sources of law include the Insolvency Act 1986, the Insolvency Rules 1986, the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, the Employment Rights Act 1996 Part XII, the EU Insolvency Regulation, and case law. Numerous other Acts, statutory instruments and cases relating to labour, banking, property and conflicts of laws also shape the subject.
The Parliament of Canada has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate matters relating to bankruptcy and insolvency, by virtue of Section 91(2) of the Constitution Act, 1867. It has passed the following statutes as a result:
Commercial insolvency in Canada has options and procedures that are distinct from those available in consumer insolvency proceedings. It is governed by the following statutes:
The Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act is a statute of the Parliament of Canada that allows insolvent corporations owing their creditors in excess of $5 million to restructure their business and financial affairs.
Canadian corporate law concerns the operation of corporations in Canada, which can be established under either federal or provincial authority.
The Wage Earner Protection Program Act, is an act of the Parliament of Canada. It was part of a package of reforms to the insolvency law of Canada that were brought into force in 2008 and 2009 to compensate employees of companies made bankrupt or placed into receivership under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. It was subsequently expanded in 2011 to cover employees who lose their jobs when their employer's attempt at restructuring subsequently ends in bankruptcy or receivership.
Reference Re Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act is a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on the constitutionality of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act as part of the bankruptcy and insolvency jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada.
Cayman Islands bankruptcy law is principally codified in five statutes and statutory instruments:
Anguillan bankruptcy law regulates the position of individuals and companies who are unable to meet their financial obligations.
Australian insolvency law regulates the position of companies which are in financial distress and are unable to pay or provide for all of their debts or other obligations, and matters ancillary to and arising from financial distress. The law in this area is principally governed by the Corporations Act 2001. Under Australian law, the term insolvency is usually used with reference to companies, and bankruptcy is used in relation to individuals. Insolvency law in Australia tries to seek an equitable balance between the competing interests of debtors, creditors and the wider community when debtors are unable to meet their financial obligations. The aim of the legislative provisions is to provide:
Provisional liquidation is a process which exists as part of the corporate insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions whereby after the lodging of a petition for the winding-up of a company by the court, but before the court hears and determines the petition, the court may appoint a liquidator on a "provisional" basis. Unlike a conventional liquidator, a provisional liquidator does not assess claims against the company or try to distribute the company's assets to creditors, as the power to realise the assets comes after the court orders a liquidation.
Hong Kong insolvency law regulates the position of companies which are in financial distress and are unable to pay or provide for all of their debts or other obligations, and matters ancillary to and arising from financial distress. The law in this area is now primarily governed by the Companies Ordinance and the Companies Rules. Prior to 2012 Cap 32 was called the Companies Ordinance, but when the Companies Ordinance came into force in 2014, most of the provisions of Cap 32 were repealed except for the provisions relating to insolvency, which were retained and the statute was renamed to reflect its new principal focus.
Chandos Construction Ltd v Deloitte Restructuring Inc, 2020 SCC 25 is a landmark case of the Supreme Court of Canada concerning the position of the anti-deprivation rule within Canadian insolvency law. It held that, because of differences in Canadian law, the rule has wider application relative to the English rule applied by the UK Supreme Court in Belmont Park Investments Pty Ltd v BNY Corporate Trustee Services Ltd.