Another Ontario CCAA Order Stays Claims Against Performance Bonds

On July 14, 2025, we discussed Justice Steele's order in the Earth Boring et al. CCAA proceeding which stayed claims against performance bonds. The concerns raised by the authors with this type of stay provision appearing in future CCAA orders have been proven to be well-founded.

On July 29, 2025, Justice Steele issued an Initial Order (the "QM Initial Order") in another Ontario CCAA proceeding involving QM GP Inc. and Highpoint Environmental Services Inc.¹ which contains wording that mirrors the performance bond stay wording contained in the Earth Boring et al. Initial Order, and continued through to the Third Amended and Restated Initial Order (the "Earth Boring Initial Order").² More specifically, paragraph 24 of the QM Initial Order provides that no person (including a named owner or obligee) holding a performance bond is entitled to enforce and/or call on the performance bond except with leave of the court or written consent of the debtor company and