John G. Hofland: $4,004,000 on the books, $975,010 estimated to realize

About a week before John G. Hofland Ltd. went bankrupt, its management told employees, customers and suppliers that the company intended to wind down. It was a wholesaler and distributor of floral products and giftware, with its head office and wholesale "Cash & Carry" business at 6695 Pacific Circle in Mississauga and a warehouse at 1030 Courtneypark, both leased from arm's-length parties. There were approximately 110 non-unionized employees at the two sites, counting those on leaves of absence. The trustee gives the company's incorporation, predecessor entities included, as 1956, per the Trustee's Preliminary Report, July 15, 2026, p. 1.

At 1:08 p.m. on June 26, 2026 the company filed an assignment under s. 49 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, and the official receiver appointed GlassRatner Restructuring Inc. trustee of the estate, No. 32-3391406, per the Certificate of Appointment, June 26, 2026, p. 1. By a letter dated June 29, G&J 1989 Investments Inc. appointed the same firm private receiver over all of the company's assets, undertaking and property, "pursuant to a default under a General Security Agreement dated July 22, 2024," per the Notice and Statement of the Receiver, June 30, 2026, paras. 1–2 and the Trustee's Preliminary Report, p. 1. Rob Biehler, a managing director, signed the receiver's notice and the trustee's report for GlassRatner. No legal proceedings had been started by or against the trustee or the company as of July 15, per the Trustee's Preliminary Report, p. 4.

The losses, as management gives them

Management, as the trustee reports it, attributes the insolvency to operating losses of $1.3 million in fiscal 2024 and $1.4 million in fiscal 2025, and $266,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 on interim results, "resulting in a Shareholder Deficit and cash flow challenges." Fiscal 2024 also brought the costs and disruption of an ERP implementation. In fiscal 2025, giftware supplier disruption caused short-shipments and lost sales opportunities of approximately $400,000; management also cites "generally adverse economic conditions" affecting customer demand, per the Trustee's Preliminary Report, p. 2.

The lender behind the bank

The company's property was encumbered first to Royal Bank of Canada and second to G&J 1989, but "as of the date of the bankruptcy, the loan from RBC was fully paid," per the Trustee's Preliminary Report, p. 2. The receiver's notice lists RBC at nil, G&J 1989 at $1,400,000 and four others that hold or may hold security at amounts unknown, per the Notice and Statement of the Receiver, para. 4(d). The statement of affairs, signed for the company on June 26, divides G&J 1989's $1,400,000 into $974,999 secured and $425,001 unsecured, per the Statement of Affairs, June 26, 2026, p. 16.

The trustee's counsel, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, has given the opinion that G&J 1989's security "is valid and enforceable and ranks in priority (as applicable) to other claims against the Company's assets." The security of the purchase-money creditors "requires further review and verification that is ongoing." GlassRatner as trustee, the report says, "will continue to monitor the receivership proceedings," per the Trustee's Preliminary Report, pp. 2, 4.

What the receiver took, and what it is expected to fetch

The receiver took possession of assets carried in the company's books at $4,004,000, among them inventory at $2,113,000 and receivables at $1,025,000. Its own footnote says "Actual realizations, net of occupation and other expenses, of the above assets will be lower than net book value," per the Notice and Statement of the Receiver, para. 3 and nn. 1–2.

The statement of affairs gives the estimate, $975,010 in all: $550,000 for receivables, $300,000 for inventory, $100,000 in bank deposits, and smaller sums for equipment, computer hardware and vehicles, among them $1 apiece for ten Isuzu, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Kenworth trucks, per the Statement of Affairs, pp. 2–3. The trustee describes those values as net of "occupation costs, realization expenses and professional fees," and gives the basis of the trucks' $10 as "Nominal (assumed valid PMSI)," per the Trustee's Preliminary Report, p. 2.

By July 15 the receiver had engaged a liquidator and auctioneer as a consultant, brought in former employees to help collect receivables, run the Cash & Carry and warehouse and prepare capital assets for sale, and contacted customers and market competitors with inventory listings to solicit interest and proposal terms for volume sales. Two claimants under s. 81.1 of the BIA are arranging to recover "the inventory which met the criteria in the BIA," and the trustee accepted property claims under s. 81(3) from two third-party logistics customers the company served, per the Trustee's Preliminary Report, pp. 1–3.

The creditors and the meeting

The receiver's list of unsecured creditors totals $3,708,117.32. The largest are Koen Pack Canada's claim of $367,638.58 and Holex Flower B.V.'s of $243,901.56; employees appear as one line, "Various Employees," at an unknown amount, per the Notice and Statement of the Receiver, pp. 3–8. The trustee's view is that employees have no priority claims under s. 81.3 of the BIA "as vacation pay and wages were fully funded by the Company before bankruptcy," per the Trustee's Preliminary Report, p. 4.

On the statement of affairs, unsecured liabilities come to $4,139,442.78 and total liabilities to $5,114,452.78, per the Statement of Affairs, pp. 2, 34. By July 15 the trustee had received 11 secured proofs of claim for $453,156.27 and 81 unsecured proofs for $2,053,891.72. The trustee says "it is not clear whether there will be sufficient funds available to discharge the secured obligations owing to G & J 1989," and it is not able to determine how much, if any, will be available for preferred or unsecured creditors, per the Trustee's Preliminary Report, pp. 3–5.

GlassRatner's appointment as trustee remains subject to affirmation by the creditors, who may instead substitute another trustee. Their first meeting is set for 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 16, 2026, by Zoom videoconference, per the Notice of Bankruptcy and First Meeting of Creditors, June 30, 2026, paras. 1–2.