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The Empirical Dimensions Of Consumer Bankruptcy: Results From A Survey Of Canadian Bankrupts, Saul Schwartz

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The number of consumer bankruptcies in Canada has risen substantially over the last twenty years. Using a 1997 survey of approximately 1,000 Canadian debtors, this article explores the economic situation of debtors seeking bankruptcy protection. This economic situation seems to be quite weak-most of the debtors have very low income, very high debts, and few assets. Moreover, the economic situation of the 1997 debtors seems quite similar to that of the 1977 debtors studied by Wayne Brighton and Justin Connidis almost twenty years ago. The aggregate amount of consumer credit, as a proportion of disposable income, has not risen dramatically, …