I t’s been several years since I last spoke at CAIRP. In fact, the last time I did, I was still a practising lawyer, the annual meeting was in St. John’s, and my topic was forbearance arrangements. For this article, I have decided to share a few thoughts on the importance of the Licensed Insolvency Trustees’ (LITs’) work to the judiciary and how it assists us in doing our jobs, as judges. I will also suggest some things that should be kept in mind when interacting with the Courts. To begin, I think it’s important that we keep a few realities in mind: (a)  LITs are the only professionals authorized to administer government-regulated insolvency proceedings under the BIA. (b)  Any receiver appointed to take possession of substantially all of an insolvent person’s assets must be a LIT. (c)  Monitors in CCAA proceedings must be LITs. Think of the role of the monitor – we are told there is no similar player under international restructuring legislation, and the involvement of the monitor is frequently cited as a primary reason Canadian restructurings are less litigious, quicker and more cost-effective than U.S. proceedings. In addition to signing off on fairness of Plans of Arrangement, monitors are mandated to opine on the priority of DIP Financing, assignments and disclaimers of contracts and asset sales, amongst other matters. They are also frequently directed by the Court, on the basis of the “You are My Eyes and Ears” mantra, to Comments from the Bench On the Role of Licensed Insolvency Trustees in Practice The following article is an edited transcript of a presentation made by the Honourable Darrell Stephenson at the CAIRP Annual Conference in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in August 2018. become involved in the resolution of contentious issues that may impede a successful restructuring. To sum up all of this, nothing much happens in the Insolvency realm without the involvement of LITs. I believe this reality exists because the system works – the involvement of LITs, with the training they receive, result in the efficient operation of the bankruptcy and restructuring regimes in Canada. In an excellent article prepared for ARIL in 2016, Janis Sara traced the evolution of our insolvency laws over the past 150 years and touched on how LITs evolved into their current roles. I knew about Old English Debtor prisons, but was surprised to find out that Canada had no national bankruptcy laws between 1880 and 1920. I found former Prime Minister Alexander McKenzie’s observation that bankruptcy laws were “conducive to public immorality 52 Rebuilding Success Spring/Summer2019