CYMI Canada: a Finch West holdback and a Champlain settlement

When CYMI Canada Inc. first came to court in June it had no employees; an independent contractor was retained for warranty work, and its sole director affirmed its affidavits from Madrid, per the First Tomé Affidavit, June 5, 2026, paras. 1, 15. In July its lawyers explained how, after filing, it had found "a potentially significant source of recovery for creditors." CYMI "recently had to replace its directors and officers, [it] has lost much of its institutional memory," so its current director and officer ran a due diligence process that included a review of audit records. "That led to locating the Redacted Agreement," per the Factum of CYMI Canada Inc., July 6, 2026, paras. 2, 10.

The agreement, it emerged in August, is a settlement dated May 24, 2020 with Signature on the Saint Lawrence Construction G.P. (SSLC), the company that rebuilt the Champlain Bridge into Montreal, and CYMI now lists it among its main assets as an $11.4 million receivable, per the Motion Record, Aug. 18, 2026, Ex. "F", p. 103 and the Factum of CYMI Canada Inc., Aug. 19, 2026, para. 7(b). Another main asset has been on the record since CYMI first came to court: a $4,988,976.22 construction holdback on Toronto's Finch West LRT that Mosaic Transit Constructors General Partnership has not paid. On September 17 CYMI goes to a case conference on the Commercial List to set an expedited schedule for an application to make Mosaic pay, per the Aide Memoire of CYMI Canada Inc., Sept. 14, 2026, para. 2.

When the case was reported here on June 11, Justice Cavanagh had extended the time to file a proposal to July 8, granted a $150,000 administration charge and put the parent's interim financing over to July 7, per the Endorsement of Justice Cavanagh, July 7, 2026, para. 2.

The loan from the parent

On July 7 he approved the financing. The order authorizes and empowers CYMI to borrow up to $500,000 from Control y Montajes Industriales CYMI, S.A., secured by a DIP charge that ranks first, and raises the administration charge by $350,000 to $500,000, ranking second; both rank ahead of all other security interests, "trusts (including any statutory, deemed or constructive trust)," liens and claims. The lender "shall be treated as unaffected in any proposal filed by CYMI under the BIA, with respect to any advances made," per the Order, July 7, 2026, paras. 14, 17, 20, 22–23, 25. The term sheet carries interest at 3% a year and no commitment fee, per the First Report of the Proposal Trustee, June 6, 2026, para. 21.

Among the reasons the judge listed was CYMI's belief that without the loan it "would be in too tight a cash flow situation given the Mosaic Holdback," per the Endorsement, July 7, 2026, para. 7. The lender is also, per the proposal trustee, TDB Restructuring Limited, CYMI's largest unsecured creditor, at approximately $20.5 million. CYMI's July 2 affidavit said the liquidating proposal then being developed would rest on realizing the principal assets "together with a deferral of a portion of the unsecured pre-filing intercompany claims of CYMI Spain (this is still being negotiated)," per the First Report, para. 12 and the Second Tomé Affidavit, July 2, 2026, paras. 26, 28.

A clause that barred saying anything was owed

As the endorsement describes it, section 8 of the agreement barred CYMI from disclosing "the economics and timing of the settlement" and limited public disclosure to the fact that an "amicable settlement has been reached." "These are private contractual obligations," Justice Cavanagh wrote. "They do not create an absolute bar to disclosure where disclosure is required by law or by court order." Section 4.2 of the BIA, he held, imposes a duty of good faith on a debtor seeking an extension, and "A debtor cannot seek relief under the BIA while withholding information concerning material assets, liabilities, or transactions that are necessary for creditors and the Court to properly assess the merits of the requested relief," per the Endorsement, July 7, 2026, paras. 15–16. The order sealed the agreement and directed that it be served on the service list 14 days after the counterparty was sent the order, unless the counterparty objected within that time, per the Order, July 7, 2026, paras. 4–5.

Getting an answer from the counterparty took until August 18. Mail and courier to the address on SSLC's website came back undelivered. On July 28 CYMI delivered the order by registered mail to the Montreal addresses a corporate search gave for SSLC and its parent; the objection period expired on August 11 with no reply. On August 17 CYMI's counsel telephoned the legal department of AtkinsRéalis, which "was determined to be the lead partner of the SSLG consortium that built the Champlain Bridge," per the Third Tomé Affidavit, Aug. 18, 2026, para. 11(a). The next day a consultant writing for SSLC answered by email that it "does not object to the disclosure of the settlement agreement with CYMI Canada Inc.," per the Motion Record, Aug. 18, 2026, Ex. "F", p. 102. SSLC had "proved difficult to locate, serve or contact, as most of its active operations wound down once reconstruction of the Champlain Bridge was complete," according to the Factum, Aug. 19, 2026, para. 7(d)(ii).

With that consent the factum set out the agreement as CYMI reads it: "An $11.4 million receivable owing under a 2020 settlement agreement" that "provides for payment to CYMI of the residual amounts it is owed for electrical work done on that bridge project, contingent on the outcome of SSLC's parallel suit against the Government of Canada for amounts claimed to be owing under the head construction contract. The amount payable to CYMI reduces proportionally if SSLC does not collect all that it is owed." The clause, it adds, "prohibited not only disclosure of the agreement but even of the fact that anything was owing," per the Factum, Aug. 19, 2026, paras. 7(b), 7(d)(ii). The proposal trustee had told the court in July that CYMI's anticipated recoveries "are largely dependent upon the realization of the Mosaic Holdback and the potential Champlain receivable, both of which remain subject to uncertainties regarding timing and collectability," per the Second Report of the Proposal Trustee, July 3, 2026, para. 29.

A holdback on Line 6

Under subcontract No. 50-CS-08, dated January 17, 2019, CYMI agreed to design, supply, install, test and commission the Finch West overhead catenary system and traction power substations for a lump sum of $36,782,920 plus HST, with a two-year warranty from substantial completion. The subcontract describes Mosaic, the construction contractor, as a general partnership comprised of Aecon Infrastructure Management Inc., Dragados Canada, Inc. and Dufferin Construction Company, a division of CRH Canada Group Inc., per the subcontract's key terms in the Motion Record, Aug. 18, 2026, Ex. "G", p. 111. CYMI's June affidavit put the Finch project at approximately $43 million in production with "limited profit of approximately CAD $495,000," per the First Tomé Affidavit, June 5, 2026, para. 16(e).

Substantial completion came effective November 12, 2025, and on February 5, 2026 CYMI invoiced the holdback: $4,415,023.20 plus $573,953.02 of HST. Mosaic, according to a March 2 letter from Heal & Co., lawyers for CYMI, had requested "a warranty bond in the amount of $5,000,000.00." The firm declined it on CYMI's behalf, writing that the subcontract "specifically provides for a parent guarantee," which had been given years earlier and accepted, per the Motion Record, Aug. 18, 2026, Ex. "G", pp. 270, 273–275.