Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The first issue in this bill concerns changes in insolvency.
Licensed insolvency trustees must renew their licences and pay fees on December 31, annually. This deadline creates unnecessary administrative burden or pressure for many trustees, because it may fall during the end-of-year holiday period. We are proposing, as part of this, two changes.
The first is to change the deadline. The proposed amendment would allow for a licence renewal date that is more convenient. It would be prescribed in regulation. It wouldn't conflict with the end-of-year holiday period or other inconvenient periods.
Right now, trustees are required to keep the original signed copy of specified documents, notably minutes, proceedings and resolutions passed at any meetings of creditors or inspectors, whereas all other estate documents can be kept in digital form. As a function of a long-standing complaint from the trustee community that this requirement is out of date and causes unnecessary administrative burden, the government will allow for digital office practices by licensed trustees.