To all OAIRP Members:

December 16, 2024
 
On behalf of the Registrars’ Committees for Toronto and Hamilton, we are advising of two recent decisions of The Honourable Associate Justice Rappos which set out the expectations of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for materials to be filed for motions to annul discharges in bankruptcy.  At a minimum, such motions should include:

1. Notice of the applicable motion, appropriately served and filed; and
2. Legal submissions citing section(s) of the BIA that are being relied upon for the purposes of the motion, even in cases where said motion is unopposed.

The Court reminds trustees that, “a registrar derives its authority from the Act and the Rules and has no inherent jurisdiction. If authority for an act cannot be found in the BIA or the [Bankruptcy and Insolvency General Rules], then the registrar cannot perform it.” Furthermore, “if the power to hear a matter is not expressly conferred on the registrar by s. 192 or some other section of the Act or the Rules, the registrar has no jurisdiction to hear it.”
 
The recent decisions of The Honourable Associate Justice Rappos can be found at Re Mac, 2024 ONSC 6675  and Re Dixon, 2024 ONSC 6688.