Gabriel Lavery Lepage

Partner

Gabriel Lavery Lepage

Gabriel Lavery Lepage

Partner

Bar Admissions
  • Québec, 2011

Gabriel brings a strong business perspective to his clients’ complex insolvency, restructuring and commercial litigation matters.

Strategic and pragmatic, Gabriel advises clients on all aspects of their insolvency and restructuring proceedings under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. His clients include major financial institutions, insolvency professionals, private equity firms and distressed businesses from various industry sectors.

Gabriel dedicates a significant portion of his practice to commercial litigation matters, including high-profile contractual disputes, and has successfully represented clients from both the public and private spheres at multiple levels of court.

Gabriel lectures on bankruptcy and insolvency law at McGill University's Faculty of Law.

Gabriel Lavery Lepage

Partner

Gabriel brings a strong business perspective to his clients’ complex insolvency, restructuring and commercial litigation matters.

Strategic and pragmatic, Gabriel advises clients on all aspects of their insolvency and restructuring proceedings under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. His clients include major financial institutions, insolvency professionals, private equity firms and distressed businesses from various industry sectors.

Gabriel dedicates a significant portion of his practice to commercial litigation matters, including high-profile contractual disputes, and has successfully represented clients from both the public and private spheres at multiple levels of court.

Gabriel lectures on bankruptcy and insolvency law at McGill University's Faculty of Law.

Business Development Bank of Canada

Acted for Business Development Bank of Canada in relation to the restructuring proceedings of Forex Inc. et al. under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ and Fonds de solidarité

Acted for Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ and Fonds de solidarité with the restructuring of Groupe Sélection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act relating to the acquisition of Groupe Sélection’s entire interest in the historic site District des Brasseurs (former Molson Brewery), and the subsequent sale of a portion of such interest to Montoni, making FTQ and Montoni equal owners of the property.

Nemaska Lithium Inc.

Acted for Nemaska Lithium Inc. in proceedings instituted by Victor Cantore requesting that Nemaska be compelled to convey him a 3% net smelter return royalty on all metals extracted from Nemaska's Whabouchi mine.

Laurentian Bank of Canada

Acting for Laurentian Bank of Canada, a secured creditor of Kanwal Inc., in the latter's restructuring and receivership proceedings. 

The Aldo Group Inc.

Acted for The Aldo Group Inc. in its successful restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. This restructuring won Insolvency and Restructuring Deal of the Year at the 2023 Canadian Law Awards.

Reitmans (Canada) Limited

Acting for Reitmans (Canada) Limited, a TSX-listed clothing retailer with approximately 600 stores across Canada operating under five different banners (Reitmans, Penningtons, Addition Elle, Thyme Maternity and RW&CO), in its restructuring under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.

The Pallinghurst Group

Acted for The Pallinghurst Group, a private investor in the global natural resources sector, in its joint 50-50 acquisition with Investissement Québec of Québec-based Nemaska Lithium Inc. pursuant to a sales process under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. The acquisition was structured as a credit bid with Nemaska's largest secured creditor, Orion Mine Finance, and achieved through a reverse vesting order granted by the Superior Court of Québec and upheld by the Québec Court of Appeal.

Insolvency Institute of Canada

Acted for the Insolvency Institute of Canada in connection with its intervention before the Québec Court of Appeal in the Québec controversy involving the application of section 243 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and, more specifically, the right of hypothecary creditors to have a receiver appointed and their obligation to provide timely prior notice of the exercise of a hypothecary right.

Kerry Logistics (Canada) Inc.

Acted for Kerry Logistics (Canada) Inc., an international freight forwarder and logistics services provider, in the restructuring under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act of its customer, Stokes Inc., a tableware and kitchenware retailer with 147 retail locations across Canada.

Québecor Inc.

Acted for Québecor Inc. in connection with its proposed acquisition of Cirque du Soleil and related insolvency proceedings.

HSBC Bank of Canada

Acting for HSBC Bank of Canada in its capacity as operating lender and DIP lender to Ernest Enterprises (Mtl) Ltd.

Bluberi Group Inc.

Successfully acted for 9354-9186 Québec Inc. and 9354-9178 Québec Inc. (formerly known as Bluberi Gaming Technologies Inc. and Bluberi Group Inc.) with regards to (i) appellate proceedings before the Supreme Court of Canada and (ii) their restructuring efforts under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). The judges of the Supreme Court, on the bench, unanimously ruled in favour of our clients and overturned the Court of Appeal.

Deloitte Restructuring Inc.

Acting for Deloitte Restructuring Inc., in its capacity as trustee to the notice of intention, in the restructuring of BCBG Max Azria Canada Inc. under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

Hale Capital Partners

Acted for Hale Capital Partners in connection with a debtor in possession loan to RB Energy Inc. in a Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act proceeding.

Royal Bank of Canada

Acting for Royal Bank of Canada, the most important secured creditor of Artemano Canada Inc., in the latter's restructuring proceedings under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act

Raymond Chabot Inc.

Acting for Raymond Chabot Inc. in its capacity as trustee to the proposal of Peloton Pharmaceuticals Inc.

O'Leary Funds

Acting for O'Leary Funds, one of the largest unitholders of Boralex Power Income Fund (BPT), in connection with its opposition to the takeover bid made by Boralex Inc. for the outstanding units of BPT. O'Leary is challenging the legality of the takeover bid and is seeking an increased consideration for its units taken up in connection with the takeover bid.

HSBC Bank Canada

Acted for HSBC Bank Canada in connection with the restructuring under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act of the Gray Aqua Group, a major aquaculture group of companies with operations in various eastern Canadian provinces.

MEXX Canada Company

Acted for Mexx Canada Company in its restructuring proceedings under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

HSBC Bank Canada

Acting for HSBC Bank Canada, the most significant creditor of Béton Brunet and its affiliates, in its restructuring attempt under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.

City of Lévis

Acted for the City of Lévis in defence of a class action and other related actions instituted by citizens who have built houses on land which they claim was unsuitable for traditional constructions.

Leonardo S.p.a.

Acting for Leonardo S.p.a. in its lawsuit against Bombardier Inc. in which it seeks the judicial termination of the manufacturing contract for the CSeries horizontal and vertical tail stabilizers, as well as damages totalling $320 million.

RSM Richter and Royal Bank of Canada

Acted for RSM Richter and Royal Bank of Canada in connection with a personal bankruptcy involving claims of $30 million and the validity of a protective trust.

Hydro-Québec

Acted for Hydro-Québec before the Québec Court of Appeal in its appeal against a judgment of the Québec Superior Court awarding $27 281 556 in damages to Construction Kiewit Cie., a contractor hired by the public utility company to build a hydroelectric dam for $111M. Kiewit originally claimed $59 355 847 for various losses which were allegedly incurred during construction as result of either force majeure or Hydro-Québec's fault.

Ingram Micro Inc.

Acted for Ingram Micro Inc. in connection with the restructuring of Groupe Dumoulin and its affiliates under the Companies' Creditors Arrangements Act.

Article

“With Leave or Not With Leave, That is the Question – When is an Order “Made Under” the CCAA?”, co-author

Feb. 02, 2024 - CanLII and Thomson Reuters
Read the article.

Speaking Engagement

Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals, 21st Annual Review of Insolvency Law Conference, “Spoiled for Choice: More Options, More Opinions, More Questions?”; Vancouver, BC

Feb. 02, 2024

Speaking Engagement

Canadian Bar Association, “Annual Review of Bankruptcy and Insolvency Case Law”; Québec City, QC

Sept. 18, 2018

Speaking Engagement

Canadian Bar Association, “Annual Judicial Review of Bankruptcy and Insolvency”; Montréal, QC

June 06, 2018

Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business—Restructuring/Insolvency

Benchmark Canada Impact Case of the Year Award (2020)—Recipient

IFLR1000: Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms—Restructuring and Insolvency

The Legal 500 Canada—Restructuring and Insolvency (Next Generation Partner)

Lexpert Special Edition: Restructuring and Insolvency

The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory—Insolvency and Financial Restructuring: Insolvency Litigation

The Best Lawyers in Canada—Banking and Finance Law; Corporate and Commercial Litigation; Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law

Bar Admissions

Québec, 2011

Education

University of Cambridge, LLM, 2012
Université de Sherbrooke, LLB (Ogilvy Renault Scholarship, 2008) (Dean's List, 2010)
Université de Sherbrooke, MBA, 2010

Teaching Engagements

Gabriel lectures on bankruptcy and insolvency law at McGill University's Faculty of Law.

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