After serving on an interim basis since September 30, 2011, William James was officially appointed yesterday as Superintendent of Bankruptcy. Mr. James is responsible for the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada (OSB). The OSB is the regulatory agency that oversees Canada’s bankruptcy and insolvency process including the administration of bankruptcies and consumer proposals under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
The OSB’s mandate is to protect the integrity of the Canadian bankruptcy and insolvency system to ensure that Canadians remain confident in the overall economic marketplace. Their intent is to ensure that bankruptcies and insolvencies are conducted in a fair and orderly manner.
What are the OSB’s duties?
The OSB objectives are to ensure that all trustees, debtors and creditors act in compliance with bankruptcy rules and regulations and to provide information about the Canadian bankruptcy process to all stakeholders. To ensure bankruptcies and insolvencies are properly administered the OSB:
- supervises all estates (including bankruptcies, consumer proposals and receiverships) under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act;
- maintains public bankruptcy and insolvency records;
- licenses and regulates federally appointed trustees in bankruptcy and administrators of consumer proposals;
- oversees complaints from creditors, debtors and members of the public regarding the administration of any insolvency matter;
- mandates professional standards of conduct for the administration of estates; and
- promotes awareness of the rights and responsibilities of different stakeholders in the insolvency process.
In effect, the OSB ensures that all insolvencies comply with the rules of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and that all parties are acting properly. Only in this way will all involved, both debtors and creditors, view bankruptcies and consumer proposals as a viable alternative.
More information about the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy can be found at the OSB website.