Kelly Bourassa

Some of the cases on the public record in which Kelly has been involved include representing:

• The Term Loan Agent, as Canadian counsel in the cross border (CCAA/Chapter 11) restructuring proceedings of Hollander Sleep Products, LLC, one of the largest suppliers of pillows, mattress pads and other bedding products in the U.S. to the retail industry (manufacturing)

• The plan administrator for the Sears Canada Inc. Registered Pension Plan in the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act(CCAA) liquidation of Sears Canada (retail)

• Jupiter Resources Inc. in its successful Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) reorganization proceedings (oil and gas)

• The Insolvency Institute of Canada, as intervenor, in respect of the deemed trust priority appeal proceedings in the CCAA proceedings of Canada North Group Inc., et al. (oil and gas services)

• The debtors, as Canadian counsel, in the multi-jurisdictional (sauvegarde/Chapter 11/CCAA) restructuring proceedings of the CGG Group (oil and gas services)

• The debtors in the CBCA and CCAA proceedings of Lightstream Resources Ltd., 1863359 Alberta Ltd., LTS Resources Partnership, 1863360 Alberta Ltd. And Bakken Resources Partnership (oil and gas)

• The lending syndicate in the CCAA proceedings of Endurance Energy Ltd. (oil and gas)

• The lending syndicate, as Canadian counsel, in the cross-border (CCAA/Chapter 15) restructuring proceedings of the Sanjel Group (oil and gas services)

• The agent to the lending syndicate, as Canadian counsel, in the cross-border (CCAA/Chapter 11) restructuring proceedings of the Quicksilver Canada entities (oil and gas)

• The senior lenders in the receivership proceedings of Spyglass Resources Corp. et al., Twin Butte Energy Ltd., COGI Limited Partnership and Redwater Energy Corp. (oil and gas)

• The lending syndicate, as Canadian counsel, in the cross-border (CCAA/Chapter 15) restructuring proceedings of the Parallel Energy group and Argent Energy group (oil and gas)

• The senior secured lender in connection with a more than C$150-million debt investment in Laricina Energy Ltd., a major Canadian oil sands development and production company (oil sands)

• The debtors in the CCAA proceedings of Bloom Lake General Partner Limited, Quinto Mining Corporation, 8568391 Canada Limited, Cliffs Québec Iron Mining ULC (formerly, Cliffs Québec Iron Mining Limited), Bloom Lake Railway Company Limited and The Bloom Lake Iron Ore Mine Limited Partnership (mining)

• The court-appointed receivers of Questfire Energy Corp., Hyperion Exploration Corp., Ivanhoe Energy Inc., Palliser Oil & Gas Corp., Waldron Energy Corporation (oil and gas); Ladacor AMS Ltd. et al. (construction); and Phenomenome Discoveries Inc. et al. (pharma)

Kelly is recognized as a leading lawyer in the following publications:

• Chambers Canada: Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business - 2017-2021 (Restructuring & Insolvency)

• The Best Lawyers in Canada - 2015-2021 (Insolvency and Financial Restructuring)

• Acritas Stars 2020: Independently Rated Lawyer (Nominated as a stand-out lawyer by senior in-house counsel)
  

• Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business - 2014-2020 (Restructuring & Insolvency)

• The Legal 500 Canada - 2016-2020 (Recommended - Restructuring & Insolvency)

• The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory - 2013-2020 (Insolvency & Financial Restructuring)

• IFLR 1000: The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms - 2017 and 2019 (Restructuring & Insolvency)

• Who's Who Legal: Thought Leaders - 2017-2018 (Restructuring & Insolvency)

• Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys - 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 (National Litigation Star: Insolvency; Provincial Litigation Star: Alberta - Insolvency)

• Euromoney Expert Guides Rising Star - 2017 (Insolvency and Restructuring)

Kelly was awarded the first Annual Honourable Lloyd Houlden Research Fellowship from the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals (CAIRP) for her working paper on eligible financial contracts in Canadian insolvency legislation.

Kelly is the western editor of the Canadian Bankruptcy Reports and has authored and co-authored articles and papers on various insolvency-related topics for continuing legal education programs, conferences and seminars with a particular interest in derivatives and eligible financial contracts.

Kelly is a member of the board of directors of the Insolvency Institute of Canada, the board of directors of the ARIL Society, is the current vice-president communications of the Turnaround Management Association and a member and past-president of the Northwest Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association. She is also a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the International Insolvency Institute, the Association of Corporate Growth - Calgary Branch, the International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, The Law Society of Alberta and the Law Society of Ontario.

In 2010, 2014 and 2015, Kelly was retained by Industry Canada as a board member for the Licensed Insolvency Trustee Oral Board of Examination in Calgary, Alberta.

• Co-author: Amendments to the CCAA and BIA in Force November 1, 2019
  Blakes Bulletin on Restructuring & Insolvency, November 1, 2019.
• Co-author: What Comes First: Deemed Trusts or Court-Ordered Super Priority Charges? ABCA Weighs In
  Blakes Bulletin on Restructuring & Insolvency, September 3, 2019.
• Co-author: Long May You Run: Ontario Court of Appeal Clarifies the Treatment of Mineral Royalties in Insolvency Proceedings
  Commercial Insolvency Reporter, Vol. 31, No. 6, pp. 54-58, August 2019.
• Co-author: Priority Denied: Alberta Court of Appeal Determines Linear Property Tax Arrears Are Not Subject to a Special Lien
  Blakes Bulletin on Restructuring & Insolvency, February 19, 2019.
• Co-author: Supreme Court of Canada Overturns Alberta Court of Appeal in Redwater Decision
  Blakes Bulletin on Restructuring & Insolvency, January 31, 2019.
• Co-author: Swift Justice? Use of Summary Trials in Restructuring Proceedings
  Annual Review of Insolvency Law, February 9, 2018.
• Co-author: Supreme Court of Canada Grants Leave to Challenge Unconstitutionality of Alberta’s Oil and Gas Licensing Regime
  Blakes Bulletin on Restructuring & Insolvency, November 9, 2017.

• Speaker: What to Expect When Insolvency Crosses the Border
  Episode 11, The Blakes Continuity Podcast, September 21, 2020.
• Presenter: Bank Litigation Update: Recent Case Studies
  Blakes Business Class Seminar, Toronto, Ontario, June 26, 2019.
• Co-presenter: Top Five Court Decisions with a Significant Impact on Business
  Blakes Business Class Seminar, Calgary, Alberta, March 7, 2019.
• Panellist: Paramountcy – Does Insolvency Always Trump?
  Annual Review of Insolvency Law, Montreal, Quebec, February 1, 2019.
• Panellist: Restructuring and Insolvency: A Cross-Country Year in Review
  Blakes Business Class Seminar, Toronto, Ontario, January 23, 2019.
• Co-presenter: Insolvency 101 in the Energy Industry
  Canadian Bar Association, Energy Section, Calgary, Alberta, June 13, 2018.
• Co-presenter: Managing Enterprise Risk - Spotlight on Directors’ and Officers’ Liability
  Blakes Business Class Seminar, Calgary, Alberta, May 23, 2018.
• Panellist: The Use of Summary Trials in Complex Proceedings
  Annual Review of Insolvency Law, February 9, 2018.
• Panellist: Restructuring and Insolvency: A Cross-Country Year in Review
  Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Seminar, Toronto, Ontario, January 24, 2018.
• Panellist: Managing Enterprise Risk: Spotlight on D&O Liability
  Blakes Business Class Seminar, Toronto, Ontario, December 6, 2017.
• Panellist: ABI Cross-Border Insolvency Program 2017
  American Bankruptcy Institute, New York, New York, November 7, 2017.

Admitted to Alberta Bar - 2001
Admitted to Ontario Bar - 2000
LL.M., Osgoode Hall Law School - 2007
J.D., University of Western Ontario - 1998
B.A. (Hon.), University of Waterloo - 1995