Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada

The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy helps to ensure that estates in bankruptcy, commercial re-organizations, consumer proposals and receiverships are administered in a fair and orderly manner.

Eligibility Criteria

When businesses or consumers are insolvent (cannot pay their debts as they become due) they may file for bankruptcy or a proposal (a payment arrangement with their creditors). These are legal proceedings carried out under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act; they must be handled by an insolvency professional - a licensed private sector trustee, or administrator of consumer proposals - and must be registered with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.

Summary

Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act
The legal framework whereby private sector trustees, administrators of consumer proposals, provincial courts and employees of the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy administer and oversee the bankruptcy and insolvency transactions between some 100 000 debtors and 1 000 000 creditors annually, sets out the rights and obligations of the various parties involved in a bankruptcy or an insolvency proceeding. Individuals who are having financial difficulties may wish to obtain from the local Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy a copy of the publication "Dealing with Debt: a Consumer's Guide".

If your personal financial situation has become or is becoming unmanageable, your first step is to seek a competent qualified counsellor. Consult the business pages of your local telephone book for a trustee in bankruptcy near you. A trustee can objectively review your situation and may recommend some other solution to declaring bankruptcy.

Business of the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy

The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy is responsible for:

• supervising the administration of estates in bankruptcy, commercial re-organizations, consumer proposals and receiverships;
• maintaining a publicly accessible record of bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings;
• recording and investigating complaints from creditors, debtors and members of the general public regarding possible wrongdoing by someone involved in the insolvency process;
• licensing of private sector trustees to administer estates and the appointment of administrators of consumer proposals;
• setting and enforcing professional standards for the administration of estates.

In order to carry out these responsibilities the Superintendent of Bankruptcy employs a staff of more than 300 people, who work in 14 cities across Canada with headquarters located in Ottawa. The employees are involved in a wide range of program activities. They include:

• Field Staff - answer the public's requests for information relative to bankruptcies and proposals, examine bankrupts under oath as to the cause of their bankruptcy, monitor the work of private sector trustees, handle complaints and inquiries, chair meetings of creditors and intervene before the provincial courts in bankruptcy with regard to the administration of estates. Estates are registered by field staff, who provide the information contained in the centralized National Insolvency Name Search database.
  
• Headquarters Staff - develop policies related to operational programs and set professional standards to support the work of the field staff and the private sector trustees in the administration of estates. They also regulate the trustee licensing process. Finally, they are responsible for the different information products intended for the public and stakeholders of the insolvency system, including the Insolvency Name Search which is available on the Internet, by fax or by telephone (cost per search $8.00), the Unclaimed Dividends Search for creditors (no charge/ $30.00 cost for handling a claim) and the management of the electronic transaction system related to the administration of bankruptcies and proposals by trustees across Canada.

The PDF* document gives more details on the vision and the mission statement of the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada (PDF file) .

To download publications in PDF format, Adobe Reader is required (available free of charge).

New Brunswick Contact(s):
Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy
Industry Canada
Suite 1605
1505 Barrington Street
P.O. Box 940, Station M
Halifax, Nova Scotia  B3J 3K5
Telephone: 902-426-2900
Fax: 902-426-7275

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National Contact(s):
National Headquarters
Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy
Industry Canada
4th Floor
Heritage Place
155 Queen Street
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0H5
Telephone: 613-941-1000
Fax: 613-941-2862
Web site: http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/bsf-osb.nsf/en/home