The Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA; ) (the Act) is one of the statutes that regulates the law on bankruptcy and insolvency in Canada. It governs bankruptcies, consumer and commercial proposals, and receiverships in Canada. It also governs the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, a federal agency responsible for ensuring that bankruptcies are administered in a fair and orderly manner. Purpose and scope The nature of the Act within Canada's legal framework governing insolvency was described by the Supreme Court of Canada in Century Services Inc. v. Canada (Attorney General): With certain exceptions, the Act covers a wide range of entities: it covers anyone who has resided or carried on business in Canada it "includes a partnership, an unincorporated association, a corporation, a cooperative society or a cooperative organization, the successors of a partnership, of an association, of a corporation, of a society or of an organization and the heirs, executors, liquidators of the succession, administrators or other legal representatives of a person;" but partners in a partnership may be placed into bankruptcy with that partnership, but that can only occur where the partnership is located in one of the common-law jurisdictions; the Civil Code of Quebec defines partnership property as being a patrimony independent from its partners it does not apply to banks, insurance companies, trust companies or loan companies. The Farm Debt Mediation Act provides that farmers cannot be forced into bankruptcy, but they can make a voluntary assignment. The Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act provides that a court may order a stay of proceedings with respect to specified large debtors, whether or not they have already been initiated. The Act governs bankruptcy proceedings, which are invoked: either voluntarily by a person who is insolvent, by a debtor's creditors, where the debtor owes at least $1000 and has committed an act of bankruptcy, or where a proposal under the Act has failed. The Act also governs receivership proceedings. Receivers may be appointed by a secured creditor under the terms of a general security agreement (where the debtor voluntarily agrees), or by the court where a secured creditor: is enforcing his security, or is acting under a court order made under any other federal or provincial statute that authorizes the appointment of a receiver or receiver-manager. Provision is also made for dealing with cross-border insolvencies and the recognition of foreign proceedings. Relationship with provincial law Several notable cases known