François Alexandre Toupin is an associate in our Bankruptcy & Restructuring and Litigation groups in Montreal. His practice focuses on bankruptcy, insolvency, restructuring and commercial litigation.

In his practice, François Alexandre draws on his extensive knowledge of the insolvency industry and his creative approach in representing various types of stakeholders in insolvency and restructuring matters, namely companies in financial difficulty, financial institutions, monitors, trustees, receivers, purchasers and creditors.

François Alexandre has been involved in significant insolvency matters, including the following:

• Groupe Dynamite, a women’s fashion retailer, in its cross-border restructuring under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA)
• Alaris Royalty Corp., as secured creditor and applicant in the CCAA proceedings of SM Group, an engineering firm with 700 employees in Quebec (implementation of a transaction involving the assignment of more than 2000 contracts);
• Groupe Capitales Médias, a media group which owns six French newspapers in Quebec and Ontario (representing PwC, as monitor with expanded powers);
• Tidal Health Solutions, a company operating in the cannabis industry, in its restructuring proceedings under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) (these proceedings led to the first reverse vesting order under the BIA);
• Receivership of Alasko Foods, a leader in the global distribution and commercialization of frozen fruits and vegetables (representing Groupe Commensal, the purchaser of the assets as part of the receivership proceedings);
• Taxelco Group, which used to operate “Téo Taxi” and other taxi companies in Montreal (representing the monitor Richter);
• Nemaska Lithium, a mining company, in its restructuring proceedings under the CCAA (these proceedings led to the approval of the first disputed reverse vesting order);
• Atis Group, a major manufacturer of windows and doors with operations in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes, in its restructuring under the CCAA;
• Fortress Global Enterprises, a company operating in the dissolving pulp sector and in the renewable energy production sector (representing Deloitte, as monitor with expanded powers); and
• Rising Phoenix International, a group of companies operating private colleges in Quebec (as the court-appointed representative of the students).

François Alexandre was called to the Quebec Bar in 2018 and obtained a bachelor’s degree in civil law (LL.B.) from Université Laval in 2017. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in anatomy and cell biology (B.Sc.) from McGill University.

François Alexandre is a member of the Canadian Bar Association and the Young Bar Association of Montreal.

Publications:

• “Fragile Balance: Mitigating the Risks for Secured Lenders Associated with Remedies Available to Suppliers and Ensuring Suppliers’ Cooperation in Insolvency Proceedings”(2024) 13 JIIC (forthcoming)
• « Reverse Vesting Transactions: An Innovative Solution to Restructure Insolvent Cannabis Companies » (2021) 10 JIIC 219