Arc Productions Ltd., August 25, 2016
August 25, 2016
Update – Wage Earner Protection Program (“WEPP”)
The Receiver of Arc has sent the former employees of Arc documents in relation to making a claim under the Wage Earner Protection Program (“WEPP”). The WEPP is a government program that provides compensation to eligible former employees for unpaid wages, vacation, severance, and termination pay.
These documents include a calculation of the amount that the Receiver believes that you are entitled to under employment standards legislation in your province.
The maximum amount that a former employee can currently receive under WEPP is $3,907.68. This means that if your claim is greater than this amount, for example $5,000, but you believe that it should be even higher, there is no need to dispute that at this stage. Your claim will be capped at the maximum amount in any event.
It is also important for former employees to know that the amount of their claim under WEPP does not determine their ultimate claim in the estate of Arc. We do not yet know if there will be a claims process or any money to distribute to unsecured creditors. However, should there ultimately be a claims process and you believe that you have a greater claim than that submitted in the WEPP process, it will be possible for additional amounts to be claimed. Former Arc employees who believe that they are entitled to additional amounts or claims, such as for common law damages or employment benefits, will have an opportunity to assert those claims should there be any utility in doing so.
We recommend that you proceed with your WEPP application as soon as possible. The deadline to file the WEPP application is 56 days from the date of the receivership. The first Receivership Order was issued by the court on July 29, 2016. Therefore, the deadline to file the WEPP application is Friday, September 23, 2016. The sooner you submit your WEPP application, the sooner you will be eligible to receive a payment from this program which currently pays up to a maximum of $3,907.68 for 2016.
More information about WEPP is available from Service Canada, at the following address: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sc/wepp//index.shtml
If you have questions in relation to your WEPP application or any other matters, please contact Koskie Minsky LLP.
