ANS 1993: three daycares closed on August 15

On July 27, 2026, AlixPartners Restructuring, Inc. wrote to Razia Qarni, director of the six Alberta companies whose bank accounts it had controlled since July 2, that it would stop paying for their three child-care centres at the end of the month. "While the Interim Receiver is empowered to fund operations, it is not obligated to do so," the letter says; it had concluded that "continued funding of the Child Care Facilities is not commercially viable past July 31, 2026." Ms. Qarni could not wind the centres down without the interim receiver's express consent, and the letter gave it, per the First Report of the Interim Receiver, Aug. 4, 2026, App. G (letter of July 27, 2026) and the Interim Receivership Order, July 2, 2026, para. 9.

She raised concerns, the interim receiver reports, about an abrupt closure and its impact on the children, parents and employees. On July 30 it told her it would use additional funding from RBC to support operations through August 12. The email asks for her cooperation with the wind-down, "including communications to parents and employees regarding the closure timeline," and offers a reason of her own: "Orderly wind down on this compressed timeline will assist with reducing professional fees, which ultimately assists with reduced exposure under your personal guarantee to RBC," per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 4.5, para. 7; App. H (email of July 30, 2026).

Justice M.J. Lema's July 2 order, reported here that day, said the interim receiver "shall not operate, manage or carry on the business of the Debtors"; Ms. Qarni would keep managing the centres day to day, and the interim receiver would manage the money, per the Interim Receivership Order, July 2, 2026, paras. 4, 9. The First Report, filed August 4, says that arrangement began with Royal Bank of Canada, which had applied for a receivership order and then amended its application to an interim one "to allow the continued operations of the Child Care Facilities" under Ms. Qarni. The report is the interim receiver's account of the month that followed, and it recommends converting the file to a receivership under s. 243 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 1.0, para. 2; s. 1.1, para. 1.

Grants under garnishment

Of the five centres the July order listed, the interim receiver found the debtors operating three: Dickinsfield Child Development Centre (1416452 Alberta Ltd.), Roots Montessori Early Learning Centre – Pioneer in Spruce Grove (2308213 Alberta Ltd.) and Learned Robin Montessori Daycare (P & N Development Ltd.). Their two streams of income were per-child grants and subsidies from the Government of Alberta, and parent fees, per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 1.0, para. 4; s. 2.1, paras. 2–3. Immediately after the appointment, the province advised the interim receiver "that 100% of the Government Grants were subject to garnishments and writs filed by various parties," which it identified as the Canada Revenue Agency, Alberta Employment Standards and Alberta Treasury Board. On July 7 the interim receiver asked that any outgoing grant payments be paused. By August 4 it understood the garnishments would be lifted and future grants paid to it, but it had received none, per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 4.2.1, paras. 1–3. To July 31 it had borrowed $240,000 from RBC and collected $12,603 of parent fees across the six companies, and paid out $26,150 in wages and $40,723 in rent, per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 4.5, paras. 2–3; App. F.

A CRA agent told the interim receiver on July 14 that the debtors owed $649,882, $616,999 of it source deductions, per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 3.2, paras. 1–2. The interim receiver estimates unremitted source deductions at $746,932 as at June 30, some or all of which, it says, may be a priority under s. 227(4) of the Income Tax Act. The centres remitted none in 2026, according to the report; "instead, the CRA has been recovering unpaid amounts through garnishments of the Government Grants," per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 4.3.2, paras. 1–2. Alberta Employment Standards estimated approximately $235,244 of wages and termination pay owing to 25 employees since December 2025, and before the appointment had issued requirements to pay against the grants payable to Learned Robin and Dickinsfield. Several employees resigned during the proceedings "due to ongoing delays and unpaid wages," which, under a required teacher-to-child ratio, limits the children the centres can take, the report says, per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 3.3, para. 1(b); s. 4.3.1, paras. 1–4. Landlords were owed at least $206,000, per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 4.3.3, para. 1.

On July 26 Dickinsfield's landlord confirmed that the centre's lease would expire on September 30, 2026, 1416452 Alberta not having exercised its renewal option in time, and that it would not consent to any renewal, extension or overholding. The interim receiver's request for a short-term extension had drawn no response by the date of its report, per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 4.1.2, paras. 1–3.

What the interim receiver says it could not get

Under a memorandum of understanding Ms. Qarni signed on July 7, she was to report each company's collections every Monday and submit a funding request every Friday. "Despite holding numerous meetings with Ms. Qarni and Trusted Accounting," the debtors' external accountant, the interim receiver "has not yet received a fully completed Funding Request," per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 4.1.1, paras. 1–3; App. E. Among its other concerns about her ability to manage the centres while supplying the information it needed, the report lists "the provision of inaccurate or incomplete information regarding the Child Care Facilities (for example, indicating that employees' wages were current up to June 2026 payroll and that June 2026 grants have not been received, when in fact the opposite was the case for each situation)." The interim receiver also says it understands that Ms. Qarni "continues to collect certain Parent Fees associated with Dickinsfield and Pioneer into her own personal bank account, notwithstanding the Interim Receiver directing Ms. Qarni to cease doing so," and that some parents were given ad hoc discounts or waived fees as she determined, per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 4.1.3, para. 1.

The buyers the interim receiver could find

The interim receiver concluded that two share offers made before its appointment were not viable. The Dickinsfield bidder withdrew outright; the Learned Robin bidder said any transaction and its price would be contingent on the transferability of licences, current enrolment and the "reputation of the Child Care Facilities exiting the interim receivership," per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 4.4.1, paras. 1–4. Two brokers who answered a July 13 request for proposals either could not determine a preliminary enterprise value or reached one "that would be uneconomic in the circumstances given the deterioration in child enrollment, documented regulatory noncompliance and violations, operational deficiencies, and possible reputational damage resulting from mismanagement." Five potential purchasers signed NDAs, and none appeared to be a viable option "given the preliminary valuations provided or the time constraints involved," per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 4.4.2, paras. 1–2; s. 4.4.3, paras. 1–2.

A consultant advised that the Alberta child-care market "is currently highly competitive and may be oversaturated." Public records the interim receiver reviewed show 45 Government of Alberta non-compliance matters at Pioneer since 2025, seven at Learned Robin and one at Dickinsfield, per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 4.2.2, paras. 1–2. The province told the interim receiver it usually requires all obligations to government entities to be paid before approving any sale or licence transfer, a requirement the report says already prevented a prior sale of Pioneer from closing, per the First Report, Aug. 4, 2026, s. 4.2.1, para. 5; s. 5.0, para. 4(b)(iii).