It will be easier for judgment creditors to obtain debtors’ mortgage discharge statements following the Supreme Court’s decision in Royal Bank of Canada v. Trang, 2016 SCC 50. The court found that the PIPEDA did not preclude Scotiabank from producing a mortgagors’ discharge statement to RBC, a creditor of the mortgagors who was unable to facilitate sale of the debtors’ property without the statement. The court found two bases for allowing RBC’s appeal: first, disclosure was required to comply with a court order pursuant to s. 7(3) of PIPEDA; and second, the debtors impliedly consented to the disclosure. On the latter point the court said:

A reasonable person borrowing money knows that if he defaults on a loan, his creditor will be entitled to recover the debt against his assets. It follows that a reasonable person expects that a creditor will be able to obtain the information necessary to realize on its legal rights…. In the case at bar, a reasonable person would consider it appropriate for a mortgagee to provide a mortgage discharge statement to a judgment creditor who has obtained a writ of seizure and sale of the mortgaged asset from the court and filed it with the sheriff. A judgment creditor who has completed these steps has demonstrated that it intends to exercise an established legal right that depends on the disclosure of the mortgage discharge statement…. To be clear, this does not mean that a bank may disclose a mortgage discharge statement to any party who requests it. (paras. 48 and 49)

These articles discuss the decision:

SCC Rules Debtors Impliedly Consented to Disclosure of Mortgage Discharge Statement – Lawson Lundell

Mortgagors Give Implied Consent to Disclose Discharge Statement to Judgment Creditors - and That's Enough for PIPEDA – CanLii Connects

The Minister of Finance announced changes to Canada’s mortgage rules designed to reinforce the Canadian housing finance system and protect borrowers on October 3, 2016. Among other things, the changes standardize eligibility criteria for high-and low-ratio insured mortgages and introduce a mortgage rate stress test for all insured mortgages. They also close a tax loophole allowing non-residents to avoid capital gains tax. The government has also launched consultations on lender risk sharing for government-backed insured mortgages, closing February 28, 2017.

Federal

Bill C-25, An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act, the Canada Cooperatives Act, the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act and the Competition Act, received first reading on September 28, 2016. It proposes significant changes to corporate governance, shareholder participation, and gender diversity for issuers incorporated under the CBCA. For further details see the legislative summary, the backgrounder, this Law Times article, and blog posts from Blakes, BLG, Dentons,  Norton Rose Fulbright, and Osler.

Bill C-27, An Act to amend the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985, received first reading on October 19, 2016. It amends the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 to permit federally-regulated employers to establish target benefit plans and permits pension plan administrators to purchase life annuities for former members to satisfy the obligation to provide pension benefits if the obligation arises from a defined benefit provision.

Bill C-29, Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, was introduced October 25, 2016, passed second reading November 15, 2016, and is now before the standing committee on finance. Among other things, it proposes amendments to strengthen consumer protection and adds an express paramountcy clause to the Bank Act in response to the SCC Marcotte trilogy. These articles describe the proposed legislation in more detail:

Bill C-29 Proposes To Overhaul Bank Act Consumer Provisions – Torys LLP

Federal Consumer Code For Banks — Proposed Bank Act Amendments – Osler

Provincial

The in force date for The New Home Warranty Act has been amended, and it will now come into force January 1, 2018, as opposed to January 1, 2017, as originally proclaimed.

Bill 2, The Securities Amendment Act, was introduced and received first reading on November 23, 2016. As detailed in the explanatory note, it amends The Securities Act to provide for the automatic enforcement of sanctions, conditions, restrictions or requirements imposed by other securities regulators when there has been a finding or admission of a breach of securities laws or acts contrary to the public interest.

When Does Equipment/Machinery Become Subject to the Builders Liens Act? and Taking Security in Bank Deposits – Ned Brown discusses security issues in two papers recently posted on the Pitblado blog: security interests in equipment/machinery; and how lenders can best secure deposited monies in priority to other claims.

Navigating conflicts of interest - the practice area most fraught with potential conflicts is business law, according to the authors of this Lawyers Weekly article, who identify best practices for business lawyers to avoid conflicts of interest.

Governance Insights 2016 – this Davies publication provides guidance on trending corporate governance topics such as shareholder engagement and activism, leadership diversity, and the rise in issues facing boards and general counsel.

The Rise of Advance Notice Provisions in Canadian Corporate Bylaws – this Timely Disclosure blog post links to a scholarly paper examining the trend toward inclusion of ANP provisions in corporate bylaws and how this affects corporate governance in Canada.

Guide To Doing Business In Canada  - this recently updated Gowling publication provides a comprehensive overview of the legal aspects of Canadian business operations.  

7 Practical Lessons From CRTC's First CASL Enforcement Decision – this snIP/ITs blog post discusses the first public decision to be issued by the CRTC for violating Canada’s anti-spam legislation. 

Franchising in Manitoba: Considerations for business owners  - in this Pitblado whitepaper author Niall Nazarko provides a comprehensive assessment of the benefits of franchising an existing business and suggests strategies for mitigating common risks.

Retail Sales Tax – Importations – this Aikins Law publication discusses the complications involved in self-assessing the PST on imported property.

Board of Directors in Condo Corporations Rule – this McMillan blog post discusses a recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision in which the court found that the “business judgment rule” applies to decisions of boards of condominium corporations.

Environmental and Bankruptcy Law Collide: Redwater Energy Corporation – this TDS article discusses the impact of the Redwater Energy Corporation decision on business development and on directors and officers of corporations that have environmental liabilities.