The MNA therefore wants to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) to protect public entities.

That CCAA is designed for private companies, according to Mr. Angus, not for the restructuring of a public body.

In view of Final Report by Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysykabout the crisis at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Mr Angus argues so The Laurentian cataclysm must never happen again.

It secured itself from its creditors in 2021, becoming the first public post-secondary institution in Canada to focus on the CCAA.

” The university is not a department store, it is not a factory. »

Mr. Angus defines the use of CCAA by the management of Laurentian as a ruthless and ruthless experiment that nearly wiped out a world-class institution. He finds it unacceptable that the use of CCAA resulted in the destruction of careers, the abolition of programs, and the destabilization of large numbers of students and an entire community.

” We have a responsibility that these tactics are never again used to attack any other public institution, be it a university or […] a hospital. »

A similar calculation is being examined

Franco-Ontarian Senator Lucie Moncion introduced a similar bill to the Senate in November 2021. The bill is still under consideration by the Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Economics, confirms Marie-Pier Albert, director of parliamentary and legal affairs at the Senate Senator’s Office.

When questioned about this bill, Mr. Angus clarified that Bill C-309, which he is introducing today, is not limited to post-secondary institutions but has a broader scope. Once passed, this law would protect all public facilities, including hospitals.

With this precedent set by Laurentian University, he fears that the CCAA used to attack public entities in financial difficulties. As an example, he cites the Prime Minister of Alberta, Danielle Smith, and its attacks on health facilities.