Secured Debt Enforcement

9:00 a.m. Welcome & Opening Remarks

Program Chair Introduction and Overview of the Day

9:10 a.m. Insolvency 101: A Primer on Canadian Insolvency Practice, Procedure and Terminology

What’s the difference between a receivership and a liquidating CCAA? Can a trustee do things that a receiver can’t? What to people mean when they say “bankruptcy”? Our panel of insolvency practitioners will provide a primer on Canadian insolvency concepts and terminology, to give a baseline for the principles and issues to be engaged throughout the balance of the presentations, and to give a refresher to attendees who do not practice in the insolvency space every day. The fundamentals of insolvency will be covered, with commentary on developing issues and thoughts on current trends in the industry, practice, and the Courts.

Monique Sassi, Cassels, Brock & Blackwell LLP
Miranda Spence, Aird & Berlis LLP

10:30 a.m. Break

10:45 a.m. Securitization and Security: Lessons in Unwinding and Restructuring Structured Finance Facilities

Securitization structures are built to be bankruptcy-remote. They come with opinions that say so. Recent filings by debtors like the Pride Group and Chesswood have called into question what bankruptcy remoteness really means, as Courts have been faced with unpacking complicated structured finance models. What happens if the system is not run by the debtor the way it’s built to operate? When is a true sale not a true sale? How ought securitization facility creditors be treated in an insolvency, compared to conventional creditors? Our panel of experienced securitization and insolvency practitioners will consider these questions and others, many of which remain before the Courts to be determined.

Danielle Butler, Blake. Cassels & Graydon LLP
Lee Nicholson (Moderator), Stikeman Elliott LLP
Jeff Rosenberg, FTI Consulting
David Rosenblat, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

12:00 p.m. Lunch Break

1:00 p.m. Frontiers in Collateral: Lending Against Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency presents a new frontier for many industries, and the secured financing and insolvency worlds are not exempt. Can a lender accept cryptocurrency as collateral for a loan? Should it? How is cryptocurrency enforced against? Are the existing regulatory and legal frameworks sufficient? Does UCC Article 12 have anything to teach Canadians? What happens when a crypto-firm fails? Is the whole thing just an elaborate ponzi scheme? Our panel of insolvency and lending experts will unpack the new issues presented to lenders, borrowers, exchanges and crypto-miners that are presented by the increased prevalence of cryptocurrency in markets, including what happens when the music stops.

Adam Garetson, Gowling WLG
Emily Paplawski, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

2:15 p.m. Manufacturing, or Time is a Flat Circle

Manufacturing has seen more than its fair share of downturns and spotlights in the insolvency courts. With the increased and increasing uncertainty imposed on Canadian manufacturing by recent foreign policy decisions (and pivots), it is due for another moment. Our panel of seasoned insolvency practitioners have seen it all before, but with every turn of the wheel, new issues come to light. Are we in for another period of forbearance and accommodation agreements? Will receiverships or CCAAs emerge as the preferred avenue for insolvency manufacturers? What’s different this time around.

David Bish, Torys LLP
Nic Brearton, Business Advisor and Consultant
Clifton P. Prophet, Gowling WLG

3:15 p.m. Break

3:30 p.m. Views from the Bench

We will conclude our day with views and impressions from preeminent insolvency and commercial judges, ranging from topics such as the increasingly ordinary “extraordinary remedy” of RVOs, the use of third party releases (and when they should be avoided), the role of mediations and arbitrations in insolvency, and other topics on the Bench’s mind. Join our final panel for insights from the decision makers, followed by a question and answer period.

4:30 p.m. Program Wrap-Up and Closing Remarks