Debt and Federalism: Landmark Cases in Canadian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law, 1894-1937

Despite having been enshrined in the constitution since confederation, Canadian bankruptcy law eludes straightforward interpretation. Debt and Federalism traces the shifting meanings of the bankruptcy power through four landmark cases in Canadian legal history: the Voluntary Assignments (1894), Royal Bank of Canada vs. Larue (1928), the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act Reference (1934), and the Farmers' Creditors Arrangement Act Reference (1937). Drawing on archival and legal sources, Thomas Telfer and Virginia Torrie demonstrate how the legal changes introduced by these decisions formed the foundation of modern insolvency law in Canada.