5. (1) The Governor in Council shall appoint a Superintendent of Bankruptcy to hold office during pleasure who shall be paid such salary as the Governor in Council may fix.

(2) The Superintendent shall supervise the administration of all estates and matters to which this Act applies.

(3) The Superintendent shall, without limiting the authority conferred by subsection (2),

(a) receive applications for licences to act as trustees under this Act and issue licences to persons whose applications have been approved;

(b) [Repealed, 1992, c. 27, s. 5]

(c) where not otherwise provided for, require the deposit of one or more continuing guaranty bonds or continuing suretyships as security for the due accounting of all property received by trustees and for the due and faithful performance by them of their duties in the administration of estates to which they are appointed, in any amount that the Superintendent may determine, which amount may be increased or decreased as the Superintendent may deem expedient, and the security shall be in a form satisfactory to the Superintendent and may be enforced by the Superintendent for the benefit of the creditors;

(d) [Repealed, 1992, c. 27, s. 5]

(e) from time to time make or cause to be made such inspection or investigation of estates or other matters to which this Act applies, including the conduct of a trustee or a trustee acting as a receiver or interim receiver, as the Superintendent may deem expedient and for the purpose of the inspection or investigation the Superintendent or any person appointed by the Superintendent for the purpose shall have access to and the right to examine and make copies of all books, records, data, including data in electronic form, documents and papers pertaining or relating to any estate or other matter to which this Act applies;

(f) receive and keep a record of all complaints from any creditor or other person interested in any estate and make such specific investigations with regard to such complaints as the Superintendent may determine; and

(g) examine trustees' accounts of receipts and disbursements and final statements.

(4) The Superintendent may

(a) intervene in any matter or proceeding in court, where the Superintendent considers it expedient to do so, as if the Superintendent were a party thereto;

(b) issue, to official receivers, trustees, administrators of consumer proposals made under Division II of Part III and persons who provide counselling pursuant to this Act, directives with respect to the administration of this Act and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, directives requiring them

(i) to keep such records as the Superintendent may require, and

(ii) to provide the Superintendent with such information as the Superintendent may require;

(c) issue such directives as may be necessary to give effect to any decision made by the Superintendent pursuant to this Act or to facilitate the carrying out of the purposes and provisions of this Act and the General Rules, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, directives relating to the powers, duties and functions of trustees, of receivers and of administrators as defined in section 66.11;

(d) issue directives governing the criteria to be applied by the Superintendent in determining whether a trustee licence is to be issued to a person and governing the qualifications and activities of trustees; and

(e) issue directives prescribing the form of any document that is by this Act to be prescribed and the information to be given therein.

(5) Every person to whom a directive is issued by the Superintendent under paragraph (4)(b) or (c) shall comply with the directive in the manner and within the time specified therein.

(6) A directive issued by the Superintendent under this section shall be deemed not to be a statutory instrument within the meaning and for the purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act.

R.S., 1985, c. B-3, s. 5; 1992, c. 27, s. 5; 1997, c. 12, s. 4; 2001, c. 4, s. 26(E).

6. (1) The Superintendent may engage such persons as the Superintendent may deem advisable to conduct any inspection or investigation or to take any other necessary action outside of the office of the Superintendent, and the cost and expenses thereof shall, when certified by the Superintendent, be payable out of the appropriation for the office of the Superintendent.

(2) The Superintendent, or any one duly authorized by him in writing on his behalf, is entitled to have access to and to examine and make copies of the banking accounts of a trustee in which estate funds may have been deposited, and, when required, all deposit slips, cancelled cheques or other documents relating thereto in the custody of the bank or the trustee shall be produced for examination.

(3) The Superintendent, or anyone duly authorized in writing by or on behalf of the Superintendent, may with the leave of the court granted on an ex parte application examine the books, records, documents and deposit accounts of a trustee or any other person designated in the order granting that leave for the purpose of tracing or discovering the property or funds of an estate when there are reasonable grounds to believe or suspect that the property or funds of an estate have not been properly disclosed or dealt with and for that purpose may under a warrant from the court enter on and search any premises.

(4) Where the Superintendent, on ex parte application, satisfies the court that it is necessary and in the public interest to do so, the court may issue an order directing a deposit-taking institution that holds a deposit account of a trustee or such other person as is designated in the order not to make payments out of the account until such time as the court otherwise directs.

R.S., 1985, c. B-3, s. 6; 1997, c. 12, s. 5.

7. and 8. [Repealed, 1992, c. 27, s. 6]

9. Such employees as are required to assist the Superintendent to perform his functions under this Act shall be appointed in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act.

R.S., c. B-3, s. 5.

10. (1) Where, on information supplied by an official receiver, trustee or other person, the Superintendent suspects, on reasonable grounds, that a person has, in connection with any estate or matter to which this Act applies, committed an offence under this Act or any other Act of Parliament, the Superintendent may, if it appears to the Superintendent that the alleged offence might not otherwise be investigated, make or cause to be made such inquiries or investigations as the Superintendent deems expedient with respect to the conduct, dealings and transactions of the debtor concerned, the causes of the bankruptcy or insolvency of the debtor and the disposition of the property of the debtor.

(2) [Repealed, 1992, c. 27, s. 7]

(3) If, on the application of the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s authorized representative, a subpoena has been issued by the court, the Superintendent may, for the purpose of an investigation under subsection (1), examine or cause to be examined under oath before the registrar of the court or other authorized person, the debtor, any person who the Superintendent suspects, on reasonable grounds, has knowledge of the affairs of the debtor, or any person who is or has been an agent or a mandatary, or a clerk, a servant, an officer, a director or an employee of the debtor, with respect to the conduct, dealings and transactions of the debtor, the causes of the bankruptcy or insolvency of the debtor, and the disposition of the property of the debtor, and may order any person liable to be so examined to produce any books, records, papers or documents in the person’s possession or under the control of the person relating to the debtor and the conduct, dealings and transactions of the debtor, the causes of the bankruptcy or insolvency of the debtor or the disposition of the debtor’s property.

(4) A person being examined pursuant to this section is bound to answer all questions relating to the conduct, dealings and transactions of the debtor, the causes of the debtor’s bankruptcy or insolvency and the disposition of the debtor’s property.

(5) Where a person being examined pursuant to this section objects to answering any question on the ground that his answer may tend to criminate him or may tend to establish his liability to a civil proceeding at the instance of the Crown or of any person and if, but for this section or section 5 of the Canada Evidence Act, he would have been excused from answering that question, the answer so given shall not be used or admitted in evidence against him in any proceeding, civil or criminal, thereafter taking place other than a prosecution for perjury in the giving of that evidence.

(6) No person shall hinder, molest or interfere with any person doing anything that he is authorized by or pursuant to this section to do, or prevent or attempt to prevent any person doing any such thing, and, notwithstanding any other Act or law, every person shall, unless he is unable to do so, do everything he is required by or pursuant to this section to do.

(7) Where any book, record, paper or other document is examined or produced in accordance with this section, the person by whom it is examined or to whom it is produced or the Superintendent may make or cause to be made one or more copies thereof, and a document purporting to be certified by the Superintendent or a person thereunto authorized by him to be a copy made pursuant to this section is admissible in evidence and has the same probative force as the original document would have if it were proven in the ordinary way.

R.S., 1985, c. B-3, s. 10; 1992, c. 27, s. 7; 2004, c. 25, s. 10.

11. (1) Where after an investigation pursuant to section 10 or otherwise the Superintendent has obtained evidence of an offence having been committed in connection with an estate or matter to which this Act applies, the Superintendent shall report the alleged offence to the deputy attorney general of the province concerned or to such person as is duly designated by that deputy attorney general for that purpose.

(2) Notwithstanding section 136, a recovery made as the result of any inquiries or investigation made or caused to be made pursuant to section 10 shall be applied to the reimbursement of any costs and expenses incurred by the Superintendent thereon, not being ordinary costs or expenses of the office of the Superintendent, and the balance thereafter remaining in respect of the recovery shall be made available for the benefit of the creditors of the debtor.

R.S., 1985, c. B-3, s. 11; 1992, c. 27, s. 8; 2004, c. 25, s. 11(F).

11.1 (1) The Superintendent shall keep, or cause to be kept, in such form as the Superintendent deems appropriate and for the prescribed period, a public record of

(a) proposals,

(b) bankruptcies,

(c) licences issued to trustees by the Superintendent, and appointments or designations of administrators made by the Superintendent, and

(d) notices sent to the Superintendent by receivers pursuant to subsection 245(1)

and, on request therefor and on payment of such fee as may be prescribed, shall provide, or cause to be provided, any information contained in that public record.

(2) The Superintendent shall keep, or cause to be kept, in such form as the Superintendent deems appropriate and for the prescribed period, such other records relating to the administration of this Act as the Superintendent deems advisable.

1992, c. 27, s. 8.

12. (1) Each of the provinces constitutes one bankruptcy district for the purposes of this Act but the Governor in Council may divide any bankruptcy district into two or more bankruptcy divisions and name or number them.

(2) The Governor in Council shall appoint one or more official receivers in each bankruptcy division who shall be deemed to be officers of the court and shall have and perform the duties and responsibilities specified by this Act and the General Rules.

(3) The official receiver shall make a report to the Superintendent, in the prescribed form, of every bankruptcy originating in his division, and he shall also notify the Superintendent of any subsequent increase or decrease in the security filed by the trustee.

(4) In the absence or illness of the official receiver or pending the appointment of a successor when the office is vacant, the registrar of the court shall perform the duties of the official receiver.

R.S., c. B-3, s. 8.