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Yes, filing a consumer proposal can typically stop most collection activity related to unsecured debts.

When a proposal is filed through a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, a legal protection called a stay of proceedings immediately takes effect. This protection requires unsecured creditors to stop legal actions and all other collection efforts while the proposal is being administered. When the proposal is successfully completed, most unsecured debts are set to zero and you do not need the protection of the stay.

The stay of proceedings is one of the reasons many individuals consider a consumer proposal when they are facing constant collection pressure.

Under the proposal process, creditors are asked to accept a structured repayment plan based on your financial situation. If the majority of creditors accept the proposal, the agreement becomes legally binding for all unsecured creditors included in the filing.

If you are facing any collection activity, a Licensed Insolvency Trustee can review your situation and explain whether a consumer proposal or bankruptcy in Canada may provide legal protection from creditors.

Yes. Tax debt owed to the Canada Revenue Agency may be addressed through both a consumer proposal and bankruptcy.

This is because the consumer proposal and bankruptcy rights come from Federal legislation to protect the honest but unfortunate debtor from his/ her creditors. Many individuals are surprised to learn that tax debt can be included in these formal insolvency processes under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

If you file a consumer proposal through a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, the proposal may include CRA tax debt along with other unsecured debts such as credit cards and personal loans.

If the proposal is accepted by creditors, including the CRA, the debt may be settled through the agreed repayment arrangement.

Tax debt may also be addressed through a Canadian bankruptcy, although each situation should be reviewed carefully with a trustee.

A Licensed Insolvency Trustee can review your tax obligations and explain how CRA debt may be treated under each option so that you understand your choices before proceeding.

Yes, small business owners may be able to file either proposal or bankruptcy depending on their financial situation.

Many small businesses operate as sole proprietorships, which means that all the business debts are personally owed by the owner.

In these situations, a consumer proposal may allow the owner to settle unsecured business debts through structured payments over time.

If even a reduced amount of the debts cannot realistically be repaid, bankruptcy in Canada may be another option available under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

A Licensed Insolvency Trustee will review both personal and business debts and explain how each option may apply.

Because every business structure is different, it is important to review the details with a trustee before deciding which approach may be appropriate. You do not need to pay for that consultation. Many Licensed Insolvency Trustees offer that service at no charge – they are there to inform you.

Filing bankruptcy stops most wage garnishments related to unsecured debts. Even if they are from Canada Revenue Agency or court ordered.

When bankruptcy documents are filed by a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, a legal protection known as a stay of proceedings immediately takes effect. This stay requires most creditors to stop all collection actions, wage garnishments and lawsuits.

If your wages are currently being garnisheed by a creditor, the stay of proceedings may stop that garnishment once the bankruptcy is filed. While some obligations (such as family support payments) are not stayed, by getting the other creditor payments to a manageable amount you can more readily meet the family support obligations.

Because each situation is different, it is important to discuss your circumstances with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee.

The trustee can review the details of the garnishment and explain whether Canadian bankruptcy or a Canadian consumer proposal may provide protection from further collection activity.

To file a consumer proposal, you must meet certain requirements under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

One of these requirements is that you must be insolvent. This generally means that you owe more than $1.000 and are unable to repay your debts as they become due or your total debts exceed the value of your assets.

There is also a maximum limit for the amount of unsecured debt (currently $250,000) that can be included in a consumer proposal, excluding the mortgage on your principal residence.

A consumer proposal usually does not make sense when the unsecured debts are less than $6,000 because of the government set tariff. There are solutions other than bankruptcy available.

Individuals who have regular income but cannot repay their debts in full often consider a consumer proposal because it allows them to repay a portion of their debt through affordable monthly payments.

A Licensed Insolvency Trustee will review your financial situation and determine whether you qualify for a consumer proposal or whether other options such as bankruptcy in Canada, Orderly repayment of debt or credit counselling, refinancing, debt consolidation may be more appropriate.

Is a consumer proposal better than bankruptcy in  Canada? A consumer proposal in Ontario and bankruptcy in Ontario are both powerful and protecting legal options available under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to help individuals resolve overwhelming debt.

Your best option depends on your financial situation and other specific facts. There is no one simple answer – see the Licensed Insolvency trustee for a proper analysis of your situation.

A consumer proposal allows you to repay a portion of your unsecured debts through fixed monthly payments over a period of up to five years. Interest generally stops once the proposal is filed and there are no other fees.

Bankruptcy may be appropriate when the amount of Consumer Proposal monthly payments that the creditors would require to accept the offer (even if well below 50% of the debt) is unaffordable to your household due to many factors such as age, income insecurity, total amount of the debt, health expenses.

On the other hand, based primarily on income and household size) and where your income exceeds government set basic levels, bankruptcy requires you to pay a portion of your household income to the bankruptcy estate every month for 21 (or 36 months). These payments may exceed your ability to pay and can complicate your bankruptcy. A Consumer Proposal allows you to pay less a month but over 5 years (no interest) so the Consumer Proposal can be more manageable as well as have other benefits.

Bankruptcy can be completed in as little as 9 months (then 6 years on your credit bureau) whereas most Consumer Proposal payment plans stretch over 60 months (then 3 years on your credit bureau).

Certain jobs (e.g. where you are bonded) are not available if in bankruptcy.

Even if you have the facts and understand bankruptcy properly because you met with a LIT, unfortunately many landlords, employers, future lenders and the public are not informed and see bankruptcy through the lens of urban myth.

A Consumer Proposal can generally be seen as trying your best to repay as much of your debts as is fair to you and in your circumstances. It allows you to n the future say “even when things were very bad for me financially through circumstances beyond my direct control, I did the best I possibly could for my creditors and did not choose the fastest and cheapest way out”. The message in there to any intelligent listener will be: here is someone who does their best.

Both processes must, by law, be administered by a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, who will review your financial situation and explain the advantages, obligations, and limitations of each option.

The purpose of the consultation is to help you understand all your available choices so that you can decide which solution best fits your circumstances.

A Licensed Insolvency Trustee is a federally regulated professional authorized by the Government of Canada to administer legal debt relief processes under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Trustees are the only professionals who can legally file and administer formal insolvency proceedings such as a consumer proposal or bankruptcy in Canada.

When you meet with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, they review your financial situation, including your debts, income, expenses, and assets. The purpose of this review is to help you understand your options available for resolving debt in a structured and lawful way.

A trustee does not work for your creditors and does not work solely for you. Instead, the trustee acts as an impartial officer of the court who administers the process according to federal legislation.

During a consultation, the trustee may discuss several options depending on your situation. These could include budgeting strategies, informal repayment plans, refinancing, orderly repayment of debts, a consumer proposal or bankruptcy.

If a formal insolvency process is appropriate, the trustee prepares the legal documents and administers the process while ensuring that both you and your creditors follow the rules established under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. The Trustee deals with your creditors for you.

Both a consumer proposal and bankruptcy in Canada are legal debt relief processes administered by a Licensed Insolvency Trustee under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

A consumer proposal is a settlement arrangement the Trustee will negotiate on your behalf between you and your creditors. Your creditors are prohibited by the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act from collecting, suing or harassing you as soon as you file. You can avoid a bankruptcy and the consequences of dealing with unmanageable debt. The payments in a consumer proposal are often less than the total minimum payments on your debts.

Through the consumer proposal, you agree to repay a portion of your unsecured debt through structured monthly payments over a period of up to five years. If the required majority of the creditors accept your proposal, the other creditors are also bound by the proposal settlement – even if they voted against it.

Unlike a BY you do not lose any assets in a CP. You may lose some assets in a BY – ask the LIT.

Bankruptcy protection is provided by the same Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act . The creditors cannot refuse to accept. It is your right to take this protection and will usually give the creditors the lowest recovery of what they are owed. That is the man reason why creditors will accept a far consumer proposal. Sometimes, a consumer proposal is not viable or does not make sense for you. When you file bankruptcy, most unsecured debts are eventually discharged after completing the required duties of the bankruptcy process – the Licensed Insolvency Trustee will explain what debts, if any, are not forgiven.

The choice between these options depends on many factors such as your income, assets, debt load, age, health and costs of living.

A Licensed Insolvency Trustee will review your fact situation and explain how all options work for you so that you can decide which solution best fits your circumstances.

Many people wait too long before speaking with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, often because they are unsure of their options or hope their financial situation will improve. You are in control of accessing the information a LIT will provide to you at no cost. Waiting may make sense – but only when you are informed and not simply ignoring a situation that is stressful at the least and harmful to you at the most.

If you are struggling to keep up with debt and tax payments, receiving collection calls, facing wage garnishment, or using credit to pay everyday expenses, it s likely a good idea to speak with a trustee.

A Licensed Insolvency Trustee can review your financial situation and explain the legal options available under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. These options may include filing a consumer proposal, which allows you to repay part of your debt through structured payments (no interest or other fees), or filing Canadian bankruptcy, which will eliminate most unsecured debts after discharge.

The consultation process is designed to help you understand your options so that you can make an informed decision about how to address your debt. You do not need to feel uncomfortable - the Trustee is a professional who is not there to judge you. They are there to inform you and provide professional insight.

Many individuals find that speaking with a trustee earlier allows them to explore more options than only bankruptcy or consumer proposal and take steps toward financial stability before the situation becomes more difficult.

Many individuals considering Canadian bankruptcy are concerned about whether they will lose their home.

You will not lose your house:

There is no value after the mortgage payout, property taxes, CRA liens and basic selling costs and the exemption level in your Province (Ontario $ ---- and Alberta $--).
Even if there is value in 1 above you make an arrangement to buy your share of the home back from the Bankruptcy creditors.

If you want to keep your home, mortgage payments must remain current because mortgages are secured debts.

Gather the following information for a meaningful discussion with a LIT:

• Full address
• Documentation showing who is on title and the percentage owned (certain property tax bills or a title search also known as a PIN search)
• Mortgage payout statements (or at least a copy of the latest mortgage statement)
• Latest property tax statement
• Copies of any liens registered by CRA for taxes owing

A Licensed Insolvency Trustee will review your financial situation and explain how your home would be treated under bankruptcy and whether alternatives such as a consumer proposal may work better for you to retain your home and other assets while resolving debt.