What was the rescue plan?
Purdy Crawford, a high-profile Bay Street figure and former tobacco executive, was tapped to chair a committee to restructure the frozen Canadian ABCP. Months of negotiations followed. In April, Canaccord Capital and Credential Securities, who together account for the vast majority of affected retail investors in Canada, both announced rescue packages that could see those owed up to $1 million getting all their money back, as long as the restructuring plan received final approval. Later in April, investors voted strongly in favour of the restructuring plan, which would see bigger investors get new long-term notes they can sell or hold for up to nine years. In June, Justice Colin Campbell of the Ontario Superior Court approved the restructuring plan. Several corporations holding ABCP later filed appeals. They maintain that the plan incorrectly gives banks, brokers and the rating agency involved in ABCP immunity from lawsuits.
