Secured transactions law in Canada - Significant achievements, unfinished business and ongoing challenges

Abstract

Secured transactions law in all of Canada’s provinces and territories is today consolidated in a modern statutory framework: the Personal Property Security Act (PPSA) in the common law provinces and territories, and the Civil Code regime in Quebec. The road to reform was a long one, spanning a twenty five year period. This paper examines both the past and the future – what has worked, what unfinished business remains, and what lies on the horizon. In doing so it will draw comparisons with the experience in the United States, examine the intersection between the PPSA and other areas of private and commercial law, and discuss the current efforts at harmonization.