Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Banking, Trade and Commerce
Issue 4 - Fifth Report of the Committee
Thursday, December13, 2007
The Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce has the honour to present its
FIFTH REPORT
Your Committee, to which was referred BillC-12, An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, the Wage Earner Protection Program Act and chapter 47 of the Statutes of Canada, 2005, has, in obedience to the Order of Reference of Thursday November15, 2007, examined the said Bill and now reports the same without amendment. Your Committee appends to this report certain observations relating to the Bill.
Respectfully submitted,
W. DAVID ANGUS
Chair
OBSERVATIONS TO THE FIFTH REPORT
OF THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE
ON BANKING, TRADE AND COMMERCE
(BILL C-12)
As was the case with BillC-55, An Act to establish the Wage Earner Protection Program Act, to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, we are reporting BillC-12 without having conducted our usual comprehensive study and review. We are doing so in support of stakeholders who have indicated that certain aspects of the bill should be implemented without delay in order to assist those workers who have unpaid wages or earned vacation pay.
As the Committee noted in our Seventeenth Report in the 38thParliament, we unanimously support and approve of wage earner protection for the workers of bankrupt employers. In our November2005 report, we indicated that enhanced protection for these vulnerable creditors was long-overdue. More than two years later, we continue to believe that the need is urgent.
That having been said, we are mindful that some stakeholders have reservations about several provisions of BillC- 12 as well as about certain other aspects of Canada's bankruptcy and insolvency regime. In his appearance before the Committee on 29 November2007, the Minister of Labour indicated the possibility that, perhaps as early as next year, further amendments to the regime could occur. Within this context, we intend to continue our work on this important framework legislation, and will be inviting submissions from stakeholders early in 2008. It is our hope that recommendations made as a consequence of this study will receive serious consideration by the government.
Finally, the Committee reiterates the point made in our observations on BillC-55: the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act constitute framework legislation that affects the Canadian economy and all Canadians. We believe it essential that ongoing review occur in order to ensure that the legislation is appropriately amended from time to time and continues to meet its intended goals.