Merritt FuelCo Limited Partnership, Nicola Valley FuelCo Inc., Merritt Operations Services Limited Partnership, Nicola Valley Operations Services Inc., Fort St. James FuelCo Limited Partnership, Prince George FuelCo Inc., Fort St. James Operations Serv...

Merritt FuelCo Limited Partnership, Nicola Valley FuelCo Inc., Merritt Operations Services Limited Partnership, Nicola Valley Operations Services Inc., Fort St. James FuelCo Limited Partnership, Prince George FuelCo Inc., Fort St. James Operations Services Limited Partnership and Prince George Operations Services Inc., which were incorporated to provide fuel and services to an electricity generation project located in Fort St. James, British Columbia, were each adjudged bankrupt on June 7, on application by Veolia ES Canada Inc., a creditor and related party to the companies, owed approximately $7 million. In recent years, the project ran into significant issues, including: (i) construction delays and defects, which resulted in higher and unplanned expenses; (ii) major forest fires in British Columbia, which disrupted the biomass fuel supply in the area and increased Canadian softwood lumber tariffs; and (iii) the closure of several sawmills within the vicinity of the project site and the unavailability of fuel in the market. Deloitte is the bankruptcy trustee. Counsel is Stikeman Elliott for Veolia ES Canada Inc.