Bill C-55 Receives Second Reading in the House of Commons

In a previous Hoyes Michalos Blog article I described the government's proposed changes to the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act, contained in Bill C-55. In summary, the government has proposed to create a Wage Earner Protection Plan that will pay workers up to $3,000 of unpaid wages if their employer goes bankrupt. Other aspects of the proposed changes include reducing the period that will automatically discharge a student loan (from ten years to seven years; more information can be found at http://www.student-loan-bankruptcy.ca/), and an increase in the length of some bankruptcies.

Bill C-55 received Second Reading on September 28 and September 29, 2005 in the House of Commons, and has now been referred to a Committee of the House to study it further.

It is assumed that the current minority government will want to pass this legislation, primarily because of the Wage Earner Protection Plan, prior to the next election, expected in late winter or early spring. In the debate the Minister stated he wanted Bill C-55 passed "in the next number of weeks".

Stay tuned to the Hoyes Michalos Bankruptcy Blog for further updates.

Posted by J. Douglas Hoyes, CA, Trustee @ 10:18 AM

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