Number of insolvency filings in Sask. hits highest level in four years

Ian Schofield, a senior-vice president with MNP in Regina, speaks to CTV News on Wednesday.

The latest statistics show the number of insolvency filings in Saskatchewan has climbed to the highest level in four years.

A total of 212 insolvencies were filed in the province in March, up 24 per cent from the previous month, according to the federal Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.

Ian Schofield, a senior vice-president with accounting firm MNP in Regina, attributed the increase to a combination of factors.

“The oilpatch has slowed down significantly over the last few months. Secondly, farming has returned to more-typical levels,” Schofield said.

“Thirdly, and this has been a trend for a while, we’re seeing a number of older people filing for bankruptcy either because they’ve gone into retirement with debt or taken on debt to help the kids.”

But while the number of insolvencies is on the rise in Saskatchewan, the province still has about half the amount of filings, on average, compared to the rest of the country, Schofield said.

Of the 111 bankruptcies recorded in Saskatchewan during the month, 108 were filed by individuals and the remaining three by businesses. Only two of the 101 proposals to creditors were from businesses.

“At the moment, we’re primarily dealing with individuals rather than businesses,” Schofield said. “I don’t think it’s hit the businesses yet. They’ve been fairly successful at retrenching so far.”

Schofield predicts that the number of insolvencies in Saskatchewan would remain elevated for six months or longer, even after the economy rebounds.

“There’s always a lag effect,” he said. “Even if the economy were to recover tomorrow, people don’t tend to file right away; they wait a few months and hope things will get better.”