b'CAIRP AT 40curriculum was revised as those studentsFor the first time they set classes ofAs we are all aware, our professional went through the subsequent years of themembership, professional standards,designations were changed many new program, says Prentice. That launchelection and terms of directors,years later to remove the bankruptcy served as a basis for the revised curriculumcommittees and the function of terminology, Spergel says. However, and, in due course, the competency-basedprovincial chapters. the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, not program that we have today.It was also during this time that thesurprisingly, shortly thereafter quickly Garth McGirr recalls the creation of theAssociation became a founding reverted to the OSB from the SOB.first course of study for students duringmember of INSOL, the worldwideCAIRP has worked tirelessly for decades his tenure as president of the then-CIAfederation of national associations ofto address misconceptions about from 1982-83. Over the course of a fewinsolvency professionals. the functions of the insolvency and months, representatives of several largeWorking with representatives fromrestructuring system that arise from the firms shared their experience and expertisethe UK and the USA, Ian Strang (CIAuse of the word bankruptcy in official to create a three-year study program.President from 1981-1982) and I createdtitles. In December 2015, the OSB A qualifying examination for articlingINSOL International, says McGirr.announced that the very name borne by students was created and anyone wishingtrustees in Canada would be changed.to become a member of the AssociationAt the second INSOL conference inOver several years, CAIRP worked had to pass. Monte Carlo in 1985 there were 700with and encouraged the OSB to bring in attendance, 150 of whom wereabout the official name change. CAIRP Canadians, Gary Colter (CIA Presidentrepeatedly surveyed its members and At 40, CAIRP can claim1984-85) recalls. a large majority agreed that a new to have accomplishedStrang would become the first presidentdesignation was necessary.of the international association in 1985.So, on April 1, 2016, the professionals much. As an organizationCAIRP has since continued to play awho administer insolvency and pivotal role in INSOL. Past CAIRP dedicated largely toChair Paul Casey (2013-15) currentlyrestructuring services ceased to be Trustees sits as Treasurer of INSOL internationalin Bankruptcy and became Licensed building and maintainingorganization. Also, a vast number ofInsolvency Trustees (LIT). The new designation highlighted the fact that LITs a body of professionalsCAIRP members have been membersoffer Canadians a wide range of services of the INSOL executive and board,and helped to overcome the misperception who help Canadiansparticipated in panels and attendedthat they provide only a service ofmeetings around the world. last resort.through one of the In Canada, no group has done more to Over its history, CAIRP has also played a most difficult changes address the esotericbut meaningful pivotal role in the review and revisiondetails of the insolvency profession.of the legislation that governs the in their lives, it is perhapsDuring his tenure as Chair from 2007- insolvency process.no surprise that it has2009, Alan Spergel recalls a movement toColter recalls being appointed by Federal remove the term bankruptcy from theMinister of Consumer and Corporate openly embraced changeterminology used for trustee licences andAffairs Michel Cot to chair a private from the very name of the Bankruptcy and itself over the past Insolvency Act itself. sector committee of approximately 20 Canadian professionals to study and four decades. After all, bankruptcy was to be the last- propose changes to insolvency legislation. resort solutionnot the first thing theThe committee included nine members of public should perceive as what we do for athe CIA. This was done over the objections ofliving, says Spergel. I compared it to theThere had been many failed efforts over a prominent practitioner who statedfact that Im not aware of any hospitalsprevious years for substantial change to publicly that he didnt want to educateadvertising their morgue services. modernize the legislation, says Colter.the competition\'," says McGirr. Questioned by Senator Nicole EatonOur committee issued its report in 1985 Previously, members were admitted basedduring a Senate Hearings on the(the Colter Report), which formed the on a review of their experience. Duringmatter as to what removing the termbasis for new comprehensive legislation.my term, the first members to be admittedwould accomplish, Spergel remembers by examination were presented with theirresponding that among the many reasonsOn the legislative amendment front, there certificates of membership. for substituting the term bankruptcywere a number of developments in which with insolvency and restructuring hethe Association would play a key role. That period also saw the creation ofcould then refer to the superintendent asIn November 2003, the Report of the bylaws for the Association, modeledSIR (Superintendent of Insolvency AndStanding Senate Committee on Banking largely on those of the then-CanadianRestructuring) rather than SOBATrade and Commerce, Debtors and Institute of Chartered Accountants.much improved anagram! Creditors Sharing the Burden:12 Rebuilding SuccessFall/Winter 2019'