Laurentian president to step down as university nears end of insolvency proceedings
CBC talks to Simon Archer about what comes next in the Laurentian University insolvency proceedings
The long process of insolvency proceedings at Laurentian University may be nearing an end. CBC spoke to Simon Archer about an announcement that the Laurentian’s president will step down once the university emerges from proceedings under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act.
Simon Archer, a lawyer and partner with Goldblatt Partners, said two-thirds of the creditors need to vote in favour of the plan for it to pass.
Goldblatt Partners represented the Laurentian University Faculty Association during the CCAA proceedings, but Archer was not personally involved in that case.
If the creditors reject the plan, Archer said, Laurentian would need to go “back to the drawing board” and come up with a new plan of arrangement.
But he said that is unlikely to happen because months of negotiations helped create the plan.
“They wouldn’t have presented it to the creditors unless they were reasonably sure that they would get approval of it.”
Archer said he hasn’t seen the plan, but creditors typically receive 10 to 15 cents on the dollar in such arrangements.
“I guess another way to put it would be that there’s often very substantial reductions in the total amount of claims received by unsecured creditors in particular,” he said.
But voting in favour of the plan allows the debtor — Laurentian in this case — to continue existing.