Invitation and Application
Candidates who have successfully completed the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals (CAIRP) Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional Qualification Program (CQP) and passed the Competency-Based National Insolvency Examination (CNIE) must apply to appear before the Oral Board of Examination by electronically filing the application for Trustee Licence through the OSB Licence Administration Application (OLAA). Once the completed application and fee are received and approved, candidates will receive an invitation from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy to appear before the Oral Board of Examination. The deadline for applications to be received by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy for the 2022 oral boards is the last Friday in February each year.
Upon receipt of candidates’ applications, the OSB will validate candidates’ eligibility for a licence and schedule their appearance before the oral board. Candidates will be given approximately seven business days advance notice of the date of their appearance before the board and will generally be scheduled to appear in the city of their residence or in a nearby city where an oral board will be convened. Most oral boards are held at OSB division offices.
Exam Day
On the appointed date, it is recommended that candidates arrive at the designated location at least 15 minutes in advance. Candidates' personal effects will be safeguarded and they will be escorted to a room where they will be provided with two long-answer questions and four short-answer questions, pens and paper. Candidates will have a period of 30 minutes to review the questions and prepare answers in advance of appearing before the oral board.
The board will be composed of three members: a representative from the OSB, a Licensed Insolvency Trustee (LIT) and an insolvency lawyer. The LIT and lawyer are selected based upon input from CAIRP and provincial insolvency associations. Additional individuals may attend as observers, but they will not participate in the assessment process in any way.
The Oral Board of Examination will be recorded unless candidates submit an exemption request two weeks in advance. Please refer to the OSB's recording policy.
For a period of one hour, the board will listen to candidates' answers to the questions they were provided with for review. Board members may also pose additional follow-up questions. Candidates are responsible for monitoring the amount of time they allocate to each answer.
Board members will take personal notes to assist them with the assessment process.
Candidates must keep all information provided during the oral board confidential to safeguard the integrity and fairness of the process. All notes taken by candidates during the oral board will be left with the board for destruction and will not be considered in the assessment process.
Results
The board will assess candidates' performance and will provide its recommendations, along with its supporting rationale, to the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. Candidates will subsequently receive a letter from the Superintendent before the end of July notifying them of the results of their oral board.
Pursuant to Directive No. 33, Trustee Designation and Advertising, prior to using the professional designation “Licensed Insolvency Trustee”, all trustees are required to sign the Consent Agreement. Successful candidates will therefore be asked to complete the same agreement before their licence is issued.