As the COVID-19 pandemic continues,
we hope that you, your family, and your friends are safe, healthy, and secure.
Ira SmithTrustee & Receiver Inc.
Is fully operational,
and both Ira and Brandon Smith are readily available for phone or video consultation.
Laurentian University Update: Introduction
In February 2021, I wrote a blog about the Laurentian University cash crunch
and that on February 1, 2021, it had filed for creditor protection.
It stated that its application under the federal Companies' Creditors
Arrangement Act (CCAA) was intended to allow it to continue
operating its day to day operations during restructuring.
As events unfolded in the CCAA
restructuring process, I wrote six more
Laurentian University Update Blogs. In this Brandon blog,
I provide a Laurentian University update regarding the difference of opinion it has
with the Auditor General of Ontario concerning the information and documents
the Auditor General is requesting access to. The Laurentian insolvency reflects
a structural crisis in Ontario's University system. To the court.
Laurentian described itself as a public institution bilingual and tricultural,
with around 8200 undergraduate students and 1,098 graduate students.
The Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities appointed Alan Harrison
of Queens University as a special advisor in January.
He found Laurentian had been hiding deficits since 2014.
The Laurentian debacle is the result
of a structural crisis rooted in Ontario's neoliberal University system,
namely increased tuition fees and corporate management.
Back then, Laurentian did not address
regional enrollment issues honestly in its presentation of its financial problems.
Historically, northern universities have
faced low enrollment or excess capacity in some academic programs,
but most students in northern Ontario come from away.
University participation rates in northern Ontario are far below those
in southern Ontario, which should be a top priority but is not.
Furthermore, there are other factors
affecting northern Ontario, including rising tuition fees and student
debt as well as deteriorating employment prospects.
Laurentian University Update Auditor General
of Ontario Investigating Laurentian's Finances The Standing Committee
on Public Accounts unanimously passed a motion on April 28, 2021,
asking the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) to conduct
an audit of Laurentian's value for money for the period of 2010 - 2020.
The Committee discussed the motion and said they want the audit to examine
what led Laurentian to enter the CCAA process, to bring transparency
to the situation and to identify lessons learned.
Moreover, the government Committee noted
that it would like the audit to focus on the future and ensure something similar
does not occur at another academic institution.
Considering the historical scope
of the request, as well as the desire to be forward-looking,
the Committee granted discretion to the OAG on the scope of the audit.
The OAG began a Value for Money audit
to examine Laurentian's governance operations and past financial decisions.
OAG gives a Laurentian University update on the Value for Money audit.
The OAG released an interim report last week on the Laurentian audit.
In it, Laurentian is not painted in a good
light. The OAG says Laurentian denied it unfettered access to information it deemed
absolutely necessary for the audit. The OAG states that the University has
refused to provide information that its internal and external legal counsel
determined was subject to solicitor client privilege.
According to the OAG,
such a comprehensive restriction of audit work is unprecedented.
In addition, it is claimed that Laurentian has implemented communication
and documentation protocols that discourage University employees
from interacting freely with the OAG or providing the OAG with unrestricted,
timely access to information without repercussions.
In fact, the OAG says that Laurentian has created a culture of fear surrounding
the OAG's work and having conversations with people from the OAG.
It says that Laurentian has instilled a fear of reprimand within its employees.
According to the OAG,
Laurentian has a mandatory obligation to provide information and records
to the OAG, which entitles the OAG to free access to Laurentian's records
and information, including privileged information.
It was noted by the OAG that Laurentian had refused to provide some non-privileged
documents and information on the grounds that reviewing documents to determine if
the information is privileged would take too much time.
Therefore, on September 29, 2021,
the Auditor General applied to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice
for a declaration that Section 10 of the Auditor General Act grants
the Auditor General access to privileged information and documents.
Laurentian University is now being sued
by Ontario's Auditor General in an argument over how free
and unfettered access to the University's accounts should be defined.
An Ontario court has never ruled
on whether the OAG can compel audit subjects to disclose privileged
information between lawyers and their clients.
Laurentian University update: Laurentian's
response to OAG accusations that it is withholding documents for financial audit.
Laurentian, for its part,
responds in part by saying that it has received numerous requests for information
from the OAG. Staff and directors of Laurentian have
also met with the OAG delegation in response to requests from government
Ministries, regulatory bodies, and governmental authorities.
Laurentian has spent considerable time and effort in response to the OAG's inquiries.
The University says that it has provided extensive information.
The OAG has direct access to financial
accounting and other systems at the University.
Therefore, it is not a matter of access.
As part of this process, external counsel has assisted Laurentian
in reviewing privileged documents and making sure the disclosure
of information does not violate any court orders.
The University continues to supply all documents requested by the OAG,
except for those subject to privilege or court ordered confidentiality.
It has taken time and effort to respond
to the information requests due to the limited resources at their disposal.
The University does not agree with the OAG's belief that it is entitled
to privileged documents such as those that are protected by solicitor client
privilege, settlement privilege, and court ordered confidentiality.
Laurentian University Update: Auditor
General seeks court hearing on access to information Laurentian deems privileged.
As well as filing the court application last September, the OAG also informed
the Standing Committee on Public Accounts of Laurentian's restrictions on its work.
The Committee then requested information from Laurentian University in connection
with their motion. In the Public Accounts Committee's opinion
the Legislative Assembly Act, Standing
Orders and Parliamentary privilege give it the authority to command the production
of documents or other items it deems necessary for its work.
Having sent three letters,
Laurentian began sending the Committee documents in November 2021.
Laurentian's external legal counsel continues to tell the OAG
and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts that Laurentian will not
share privileged information information subject to court ordered confidentiality
or information implicating third parties and the CCAA process.
Thus, the hearing will proceed.
The hearing is scheduled for today. Rather than pending within the CCAA proceeding,
the parties agreed that the issue
of whether the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General Act requires
an auditee to disclose privileged information to the OAG or provides the OAG
with access to an auditee's, privileged information should be heard
under the Rules of Civil Procedure as a Commercial List matter
instead.
Chief Justice Morovitz approved
the following procedure following a case conference on September 27, 2021:
an application may be made for an interpretation of section 10
of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General Act.
It is only a question of interpreting section 10 of the Ontario Ministry
of the Attorney General Act that will be raised in the application.
The application will not raise CCAA issues.
The OAG's request for privileged documents or other aspects of the audit may be
subject to the right of Laurentian to seek relief.
The following timetable will be followed, subject to possible changes.
OAG's application record will be served by September 30, 2021.
Laurentian's response application record must be served by October 15, 2021.
Any cross-examinations must be completed by October 29, 2021.
OAG factums must be served by November 12, 2021.
The University's factums must be served
by November 26, 2021 and the hearing will take place on December 6, 2021.
It will no doubt be a fascinating hearing
and His Honour's ruling will be unique and will probably motivate me to report
the results in another Laurentian University Update. As stated
earlier, no Ontario court has ever heard such a matter.
Laurentian University Update: Summary. I hope you found this.
Laurentian University Update Brandon Blog
Informative. Are you or your company in financial distress and a debt crisis?
Are you embroiled in costly litigation and need a timeout in order
to restructure? Do you not have adequate funds to pay your financial obligations as
they come due? Are you worried about what will happen to you in retirement? Do you
need to find out what your debt relief options and realistic debt relief
solutions for your family debt are? Is your company in financial hot water?
Call the Ira Smith Team Team today. We have
decades and generations of experience assisting people looking for lifechanging
debt solutions through a debt settlement plan and avoid the bankruptcy process.
Licensed Insolvency Trustee Professionals
We are the only people accredited, acknowledged and supervised by the federal
government to provide insolvency advice and to implement approaches to help you
remain out of personal bankruptcy while eliminating your debts.
A consumer proposal is a government approved debt settlement plan.
To do that, it is an alternative to bankruptcy.
We will help you decide on what is best for you.
Between
consumer proposal vs.
Bankruptcy Ontario can eliminate
the stress, anxiety and pain from your life that your financial problems have
caused with the one of a kind roadmap we develop just for you.
We will immediately return you right into a healthy and balanced problem free life.
You can have a no cost analysis so we can help you fix your troubles.
Call the Ira Smith Team today.
This will allow you to go back to a new,
healthy and balanced life, starting over, starting now.