The Applicants sought leave to appeal several Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, RSC 1985, c C-36 (“CCAA”) Orders from the Court of King’s Bench (the “Decisions”), pursuant to Rule 14.5 (the “Application”).

Hawkes J.A. noted that Rule 14.5(1)(b) requires the Applicant to demonstrate that:

1. the proposed appeal raises a serious question of general importance;
2. the appeal has a reasonable chance of success; and
3. the resulting delay will not unduly hinder the progress of the action or cause undue prejudice to the parties.

The Court denied leave to appeal on all other grounds except for two: (1) whether the Canadian investors’ use of the CCAA was proper, and (2) whether the entities within the A2A Group were subject to the CCAA.

The Court found that the case presented unique circumstances, including the use of the CCAA by equity investors, which warranted appellate review on specific issues. The Decisions were entitled to deference, particularly because of the broad discretion afforded under the CCAA. However, the questions of whether the use of CCAA was proper and whether certain entities were subject to CCAA raised significant legal issues of general importance to the practice. The remaining grounds for Appeal were dismissed as they lacked sufficient merit or broader significance beyond the case at hand.