Updating Creditors' Remedies: Farewell to the Statute of Elizabeth, 1571?

On March 27, the Board of the Alberta Law Reform Institute approved an Institute report written by Professor Tamara Buckwold, recommending that a model statute issued by the Uniform Law Conference of Canada in 2012 become law in Alberta. If enacted, the Reviewable Transactions Act would replace long-outdated legislation governing the creditor avoidance practices traditionally called fraudulent conveyances and fraudulent preferences. Fraudulent conveyances are governed largely by the Statute of Elizabeth of 1571 (sometimes called the Fraudulent Conveyances Act), which remains in effect in Alberta as received law. Preferential payments to creditors are subject to the Fraudulent Preferences Act, introduced in the early 20th century. Professor Buckwold headed the Uniform Law Conference project that produced by the Reviewable Transactions Act and has made numerous presentations regarding its potential enactment including, most recently, a video-link presentation on April 8 to a panel of experts tasked with reviewing Ontario's business law statutes.