Bankruptcies

Originally posted 31 October 2016 Back in July, we highlighted a growing concern among farmers who were not receiving lease payments on a timely basis from oil and gas explorers in exchange for access to rural properties. Alberta's Surface Rights Board adjudicates between farmers and the oil and gas community. As the tables below illustrate, this board handles thousands of cases every year.  The Board is a creature of Provincial Legislature under the Surface Rights Act  a relatively small statute consisting of 41 sections (32 pages). Predecessor statutes include the  1947  Right of Entry Arbitration Act, The Right of Entry Arbitration Act, 1952, the 1972 Surface Rights Act,   the 1942 Water, Gas, Electric and Telephone Companies Act,  the 1961 Expropriation Procedure Act, and the 1974 E...

Originally posted 18 August 2016 Equifax Canada, one of Canada's largest consumer debt rating monitoring firms,  released today (18 August) information about average debt and delinquency rates by age categories, major city, and provincial breakdowns. In Calgary, the average debt level (excluding mortgages) was the highest in Canada at $28,572 up by only 1.2 per cent year-over-year.  This was, significantly, the smallest increase in Canadian cities.  Calgary's delinquency rate at 1.1 per cent was the same as the average Canadian delinquency rate. The delinquency rate for Calgary rose by 32.2. per cent year over year, the second fastest in the country. (more…)

Redwater Resources -Update Originally published 21 May 2016 The Alberta Court of Appeal on 24 April upheld Justice Wittman's judgment supporting Grant Thornton as receiver in the Redwater Resources case. The Redwater court decision promises to become a showdown between the capacity of lenders to realize on the security of oil wells versus the rights of the Crown, the owner of the resource and the regulator. In a densely worded 58 page decision, Mr. Chief Justice Neil Wittman of the Alberta Court of Queen`s Bench ruled in favour of the trustee in bankruptcy of Redwater Energy Corporation, a secured creditor of Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB Financial- was owed $5.072 million). The highly anticipated decision favoured creditors`rights over environmental regulation.  According to Just...