Groundworx: the seizure, the unsigned undertaking, and a receiver

On November 4, 2026, Justice G.S. Dunlop of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta, sitting at Edmonton, appointed MNP Ltd. receiver and manager of two numbered companies on the application of Royal Bank of Canada. The first, 1436019 Alberta Ltd. (1436), is registered to trade as The Groundworx Co. and, by RBC's account, supplies "specialized crushing, screening, shredding, grinding, and conveying equipment and parts, for sale, rent, or lease from a base in Leduc, Alberta," with the equipment it rents or leases out located in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The second, 1496200 Alberta Ltd. (1496), owns the 2.27 acres in Leduc where, the bank says, the first company stores the majority of its assets and carries on its operations, per the RBC affidavit, sworn Oct. 23, 2026, para. 7(b)–(c) and Ex. "A". MNP is appointed under s. 243(1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA), s. 13(2) of the Judicature Act and s. 65(7) of the Personal Property Security Act, over all of both companies' current and future property "of every nature and kind whatsoever, and wherever situate," the Leduc land included, per the Receivership Order, Nov. 4, 2026, recital and para. 2.

The companies' corporate searches, attached to RBC's affidavit, give a short history: 1436 was formed in Saskatchewan in 1996 and continued into Alberta in 2008, and 1496 was registered in Alberta in 2009, per the RBC affidavit, sworn Oct. 23, 2026, Exs. "A" and "B". The equipment itself is listed in the inventory RBC's bailiff drew up at Leduc on October 2, an addendum to its notice of seizure that runs to 161 numbered entries, among them RD Olson, Superior and Mace Shifta conveyors, Mace Screena screeners, a CEC track cone crusher, a Rubblemaster impact crusher, a Minyu cone crusher, a Doppstadt trommel, a Stahl 10-ton crane, a Peterbilt 389K tractor, Ford F-150, F-350 and F-550 trucks, trailers and a 1991 Cummins generator, per the RBC affidavit, sworn Oct. 23, 2026, Ex. "Q".

Forty-eight loans and a Visa facility

The affidavit behind the application is sworn by a senior manager in RBC's Special Loans and Advisory Services division. It lists 48 term loans to 1436 with balances at October 23, 2026 running from $15,571.23 to $943,766.92, the largest at RBC's prime rate plus 1.25% and the rest at prime plus 1.40%, and a Visa facility carrying $85,323.44 at 19.99%, per the RBC affidavit, sworn Oct. 23, 2026, paras. 1, 8. The bank's payout letter of the same day, attached as an exhibit, puts total principal and accrued interest at $7,691,589.27, with a total interest per diem of $1,206.61. The debt is secured by a general security agreement of November 25, 2016 over all of 1436's present and after-acquired personal property, which RBC says it registered in the Personal Property Registry on May 22, 2019, per the RBC affidavit, sworn Oct. 23, 2026, paras. 15–16 and Ex. "D".

Two guarantors stand behind that debt. 1496 guaranteed it twice, on November 25, 2016, limited to $500,000 of principal, and on April 27, 2023, limited to $1,500,000, and RBC says 1496 owes $2,000,000 under the two, with interest from September 17, 2026 at 5% above prime, per the RBC affidavit, sworn Oct. 23, 2026, paras. 10–12. 1496's own general security agreement reaches its real property as well as its personal property, and by a caveat dated September 16, 2026, RBC submitted for registration against the Leduc land the floating charge that the application calls an equitable mortgage; the caveat puts the value of RBC's mortgage and charge at $2,000,000, per the RBC application, filed Oct. 26, 2026, paras. 14, 16 and the RBC affidavit, sworn Oct. 23, 2026, Ex. "L". The other guarantor is an individual, named with the two companies as a defendant to RBC's action, whose guarantee of April 2023 is limited to $10,900,000 of principal; RBC says $7,691,589.27 is owing under it, plus interest from October 23, per the RBC affidavit, sworn Oct. 23, 2026, paras. 13–14.

What the searches also show

RBC's affidavit deals with its own loans and security, but the searches attached to it show other registered interests. The certificate of title for the Leduc land, as reproduced on October 23, 2026, lists two mortgages to Business Development Bank of Canada registered in December 2015, each for an original principal amount of $3,000,000 and each marked as affecting part of the title, with BDC caveats over rents and leases. RBC's caveat appears in the title's pending registration queue, received September 18, 2026, per the RBC affidavit, sworn Oct. 23, 2026, Ex. "M".

The personal property search for 1436, run September 29, 2026, includes a current 2015 BDC security agreement over all of 1436's present and after-acquired personal property, and an RBC registration describing a priority agreement of November 24, 2016 between BDC and RBC "in favour of" RBC's security agreement with 1436. It also shows a 2017 registration in the individual guarantor's favour over 1436's present and after-acquired personal property; the affidavit says the guarantor agreed on April 27, 2023 to subordinate and postpone all of the guarantor's security interests in relation to 1436 to RBC. Other secured parties hold registrations too, among them Mitsubishi HC Capital Canada, Vault Credit Corporation, Concentra Bank, Ford Credit Canada, John Deere Financial and National Bank Equipment Finance, per the RBC affidavit, sworn Oct. 23, 2026, para. 13 and Ex. "I". Neither the affidavit nor RBC's bench brief says what, if anything, is owed under these registrations.

The demands, and the day at Leduc

On September 17, 2026, RBC's counsel wrote to "1436019 Alberta Ltd. operating as The Groundworx Co." demanding payment within 10 days, and enclosed a notice under s. 244 of the BIA that the bank "intends to enforce its security" on all of 1436's present and after-acquired personal property. A demand and a s. 244 notice went to 1496 the same day, and RBC also demanded payment from the individual guarantor. The affidavit says none of them paid, per the RBC affidavit, sworn Oct. 23, 2026, paras. 21–23, 40 and Exs. "N" and "O". On October 2, through Serv-it Bailiff Services Inc., RBC seized personal property at the Leduc land, and a notice of intent to sell dated that day said the collateral "will be sold by public auction, or alternatively, by private sale" unless payment was received by October 23, per the RBC affidavit, sworn Oct. 23, 2026, para. 24 and Ex. "Q".

RBC's application gives its account of what followed: "The present representatives of 1436 and 1496 have failed or refused to: (i) provide the Bailiff with an equipment list; (ii) disclose the exact location of the assets of 1436 and 1496 other than the 1496 Lands, despite confirming the existence of a storage yard in Chilliwack, British Columbia; and (iii) sign a Bailee's Undertaking in respect of the seizure at the 1496 Lands." As a result, the application says, the equipment at Leduc "and the equipment at undisclosed locations, is at risk," per the RBC application, filed Oct. 26, 2026, para. 22. The affidavit draws all three points from the bailiff's reports, and says that to the affiant's knowledge neither the list nor the locations had been provided "to date," per the RBC affidavit, sworn Oct. 23, 2026, para. 25.