other Australian example involved legislation that elevated the government’ s unsecured claim, enabling it to appoint a voluntary administrator before a subsequent statute invalidated a lease. The Yukon receivership of Victoria Gold Corp. further illustrated the State’ s dual role, as the government sought appointment of a receiver while also committing up to $ 220 million for remediation, underscoring its simultaneous roles as regulator and lender.
The panel observed that jurisdictions take markedly different approaches to public claims, reflecting differing conceptions of the government’ s role in restructurings. Australia affords no priority to tax claims, Canada grants super-priority to certain claims, and the United States accords priority to many government claims. Across Europe, approaches vary. In the
United Kingdom, pension liabilities are generally treated as provable debts, making their ranking central to recoveries for other creditors.
Across jurisdictions, the practical guidance was consistent: identify the applicable regulatory regimes early, engage the appropriate regulators before key milestones, prepare a plan B, and expect proceedings to take longer than anticipated. The panel also encouraged engagement with regulators outside the pressure of individual matters, including through professional forums.
As regulatory considerations become increasingly central to modern restructurings, the panel concluded that success depends not only on understanding insolvency law, but also on anticipating the regulatory objectives that shape outcomes.
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