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Submission on PSEI Insolvency Consultations

The Canadian Association of Universities Teachers (CAUT) welcomes the opportunity to participate in the consultation held by the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Market Framework Policy branch regarding public interest protection for public post-secondary education institutions (PSEIs).

The CCAA is designed as a remedy for commercial companies, not for public and publicly funded institutions. Universities and colleges serve the public interest by preserving, sharing, and advancing knowledge. These objectives are undermined by an insolvency law designed for private companies that puts the interests of big creditors ahead of the public mission of the institution. The CCAA is a process that is fundamentally and wholly inappropriate for PSEIs. Until the Laurentian CCAA, there was no suggestion that the legislation applied to publicly funded postsecondary institutions. The door opened by Laurentian must be closed. 

In light of the harsh lessons learned from Laurentian University, CAUT urges the federal government to exclude public post-secondary education institutions from federal bankruptcy and insolvency laws without delay. 

The Government of Canada must protect the mission of public post-secondary education by amending the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to exclude public postsecondary education institutions.

Read CAUT's submission here.