The legal meaning of bankruptcy and insolvency law has often remained elusive, even to practitioners and scholars in the field, despite having been enshrined in Canada’s Constitution since Confederation. Federal jurisdiction in this area must be measured against provincial powers over property and civil rights, among others. Debt and Federalism traces changing conceptions of the bankruptcy and insolvency power through four landmark cases that form the constitutional foundation of the Canadian bankruptcy system: the 1894 Voluntary Assignments Case, Royal Bank of Canada v Larue in 1928, the 1934 Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act Reference Case, and the 1937 Farmers' Creditors Arrangement Act Reference Case. Together, these decisions ultimately produced the bedrock for modern understandings of bankruptcy and insolvency law. Thomas G.W. Telfer and Virginia Torrie draw on archival and legal sources to analyze the decisions from a historical and doctrinal perspective. This astute book demonstrates that the legal changes introduced by these landmark cases underpin contemporary bankruptcy and insolvency law and scholarship.

Thomas Telfer's profile page

Virginia Torrie is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Banking and Finance Law Review.

Virginia Torrie's profile page

This book is a masterpiece of academic contribution enriching our understanding on the bankruptcy law development in Canada and beyond … I am overwhelmed by the quality of the in-depth analysis in this book.

Singapore Global Restructuring Initiative Blog

While the tradition of any book review is to mention a few blemishes, I was hard pressed to find any... This is an excellent, thought-provoking and informative book.

Banking & Finance Law Review

"Telfer and Torrie deserve praise; Debt and Federalism is a thought-provoking escape, which should appeal to anyone with an interest in Canadian history, legal or otherwise."

Ottawa Law Review

Telfer and Torrie deserve praise; Debt and Federalism is a thought-provoking escape, which should appeal to anyone with an interest in Canadian history, legal or otherwise.

Ottawa Law Review