Whether you are a high profile company, such as Air Canada, or a tradesman operating through a numbered company, ex: Bob’s Tiling, your outstanding tax, debt and supplier obligations have the ability to derail your hard earned business in an instant and leave you personally liable; affecting your home, your family and your livelihood.
If this sounds similar to you, rest assured knowing that there are options available which can help restructure your company’s outstanding debt obligations ensuring the survival of your business while protecting the life style you have come accustomed to living.
In Canada, insolvent* companies have three legislative options available to them in order to restructure their outstanding debt obligations.
The first is The Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). This option is the usual legislation insolvent companies with outstanding debts utilize. However, the CCAA is only for companies with more than $5 Million in outstanding debt.
Doesn’t sound like you and thankfully so, then the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) is for insolvent companies with less than $5 million in outstanding debts. A corporate restructuring under the BIA is a less costly measure than an arrangement under the CCAA, and is normally used by small to mid-sized businesses.
The third option is to file a plan of arrangement pursuant to the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA). Arrangements under the CBCA are very limited as only certain companies meet the very specific requirements.
Beginning in January, my invitation to you is to check back with Rabideau Law as we will examine the above mentioned options and deal with specific case studies which may be applicable to your business.
*Insolvency is defined as the inability of a company to pay its bills, debts and other financial obligations.
