The Business Owner's Guide to Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law in Canada

Robert W. Sexty is a professor of commerce and business administration
at the Memorial University of Newfoundland and the author of Canadian
Business: Issues and Stakeholders.

Despite the fact that about 80 percent of new businesses fail within
their first two years of existence, most books about small business and
entrepreneurship focus on startup and growth rather than decline and
death. Insolvency exists when a business cannot pay its debts.
Bankruptcy occurs when a business voluntarily decides that it is unable
to meet its financial obligations or is forced by its creditors into
bankruptcy. Receivership occurs when the affairs of the business are
placed, by a creditor, in the hands of a receiver, who attempts to
recover the creditor’s money. Businesses placed in bankruptcy or
receivership do not necessarily die; with the agreement of their
creditors, they might instead be reorganized.

This well-organized book provides guidance to entrepreneurs
experiencing financial difficulties, as well as to others who may have a
stake in the failing enterprise (e.g., suppliers, creditors, landlords,
and employees). While Carhart, a corporate and commercial lawyer, claims
to have written his book for the average businessperson or nonlegal
advisor, potential readers should be aware that the language he uses is
often legalistic. A useful index is provided, but the glossary, while a
good feature, is incomplete. Twenty forms pertaining to bankruptcy
appear in an appendix.