Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada

Search

Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. B-3)

Act current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2023-04-27. Previous Versions

Marginal note:Property of bankrupt

  •  (1) The property of a bankrupt divisible among his creditors shall not comprise

    • (a) property held by the bankrupt in trust for any other person;

    • (b) any property that as against the bankrupt is exempt from execution or seizure under any laws applicable in the province within which the property is situated and within which the bankrupt resides;

    • (b.1) goods and services tax credit payments that are made in prescribed circumstances to the bankrupt and that are not property referred to in paragraph (a) or (b);

    • (b.2) prescribed payments relating to the essential needs of an individual that are made in prescribed circumstances to the bankrupt and that are not property referred to in paragraph (a) or (b); or

    • (b.3) without restricting the generality of paragraph (b), property in a registered retirement savings plan, a registered retirement income fund or a registered disability savings plan, as those expressions are defined in the Income Tax Act, or in any prescribed plan, other than property contributed to any such plan or fund in the 12 months before the date of bankruptcy,

    but it shall comprise

    • (c) all property wherever situated of the bankrupt at the date of the bankruptcy or that may be acquired by or devolve on the bankrupt before their discharge, including any refund owing to the bankrupt under the Income Tax Act in respect of the calendar year — or the fiscal year of the bankrupt if it is different from the calendar year — in which the bankrupt became a bankrupt, except the portion that

      • (i) is not subject to the operation of this Act, or

      • (ii) in the case of a bankrupt who is the judgment debtor named in a garnishee summons served on Her Majesty under the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act, is garnishable money that is payable to the bankrupt and is to be paid under the garnishee summons, and

    • (d) such powers in or over or in respect of the property as might have been exercised by the bankrupt for his own benefit.

  • Marginal note:Deemed trusts

    (2) Subject to subsection (3), notwithstanding any provision in federal or provincial legislation that has the effect of deeming property to be held in trust for Her Majesty, property of a bankrupt shall not be regarded as held in trust for Her Majesty for the purpose of paragraph (1)(a) unless it would be so regarded in the absence of that statutory provision.

  • Marginal note:Exceptions

    (3) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of amounts deemed to be held in trust under subsection 227(4) or (4.1) of the Income Tax Act, subsection 23(3) or (4) of the Canada Pension Plan or subsection 86(2) or (2.1) of the Employment Insurance Act (each of which is in this subsection referred to as a “federal provision”) nor in respect of amounts deemed to be held in trust under any law of a province that creates a deemed trust the sole purpose of which is to ensure remittance to Her Majesty in right of the province of amounts deducted or withheld under a law of the province where

    • (a) that law of the province imposes a tax similar in nature to the tax imposed under the Income Tax Act and the amounts deducted or withheld under that law of the province are of the same nature as the amounts referred to in subsection 227(4) or (4.1) of the Income Tax Act, or

    • (b) the province is a province providing a comprehensive pension plan as defined in subsection 3(1) of the Canada Pension Plan, that law of the province establishes a provincial pension plan as defined in that subsection and the amounts deducted or withheld under that law of the province are of the same nature as amounts referred to in subsection 23(3) or (4) of the Canada Pension Plan,

    and for the purpose of this subsection, any provision of a law of a province that creates a deemed trust is, notwithstanding any Act of Canada or of a province or any other law, deemed to have the same effect and scope against any creditor, however secured, as the corresponding federal provision.

  • R.S., 1985, c. B-3, s. 67
  • 1992, c. 27, s. 33
  • 1996, c. 23, s. 168
  • 1997, c. 12, s. 59
  • 1998, c. 19, s. 250
  • 2005, c. 47, s. 57
  • 2007, c. 36, s. 32
  • 2019, c. 29, s. 134

Date modified: