March 28th, 2011 by A Licensed Insolvency Trustee
The bankruptcy rate in Canada dropped in 2010, according to statistics recently released by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. That’s good news, right? Yes and no. First, let’s review the numbers. In 2010 a total of 135,008 Canadians filed a consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy. That’s an 11% drop from the 151,712 who […]
February 28th, 2011 by A Licensed Insolvency Trustee
Look in the mirror. It’s likely that you have more in common with the average person who files bankruptcy in Canada than you may think. I’m a licensed bankruptcy trustee in Ontario, and today we released a comprehensive new research study profiling the average person who files a consumer proposal or bankruptcy in Ontario. We […]
February 7th, 2011 by A Licensed Insolvency Trustee
In addition to our articles bankruptcy in Canada, we occasionally review books that may be of interest to our readers. You can see all book reviews in our book review section. Today we review Power Spending: Getting More For Less by Carolyn Johnston, Eric Poulin and Robin Poulin. I was consulted for the section of […]
November 15th, 2010 by A Licensed Insolvency Trustee
Why do Canadians have problems with money? Why do we have too much debt, and no savings? Obviously the prolonged recession has not helped, but I believe one of the reasons we get into financial trouble is that we simply don’t fully understand money, credit and debt. In Canada, financial education is not a priority […]
October 18th, 2010 by A Licensed Insolvency Trustee
This week the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy released statistics stating that an increasing number of senior citizens are filing for bankruptcy in Canada. Here’s a quote from the report: From 1989 to 2009, the proportion of insolvent consumers between 18 and 34 years of age has fallen steadily (from 12.9 percent to 4.4 […]
September 27th, 2010 by A Licensed Insolvency Trustee
What’s the fastest way to accumulate so much debt that you have no option but to file bankruptcy in Canada? As a bankruptcy trustee I have handled thousands of personal bankruptcy filings over the last two decades, and the answer to that question, based on my experience, is easy: Credit cards. If you want to […]
September 6th, 2010 by A Licensed Insolvency Trustee
On September 1, 2010 new credit card regulations took effect in Canada. What are the new rules, and what will they mean to you? Here are the three new regulations: The New Credit Card Regulations in Canada First, credit card issuers must offer a minimum 21 day grace period, during which they can’t charge you […]
August 16th, 2010 by A Licensed Insolvency Trustee
I have written quite a few pieces were I am critical of the “debt consulting” industry and persons presenting themselves as credit counsellors when they have little or no formal education or credentials. It’s not that I begrudge any of these people a livelihood – I just wish they’d pick a career that doesn’t involve […]
August 9th, 2010 by A Licensed Insolvency Trustee
In addition to our usual commentary on bankruptcy in Canada, we occasionally review books that may be of interest to our readers. You can see all book reviews in our book review section. Today we review Debt Free Forever: Take Control Of Your Money And Your Life by Gail Vaz-Oxlade, the host of TV’s Til […]
August 2nd, 2010 by A Licensed Insolvency Trustee
The consumer proposal is probably the least known of the processes to deal with overwhelming debt, but it is the mechanism that has the greatest capacity for good given our current economic environment. Let’s face it, right now the number one biggest risk to the Canadian economy isn’t the high dollar, it isn’t our level […]