The $144 Million, and What It Leaves Out
News reports about Robert (Robby) Clark and the SID companies led with one number: $144 million owed to lenders. This page sets out what that number was made of, what it was set against, and what happened to it.
$144 million was the debt figure at filing. It was reported without the assets. The Monitor's own pre-filing report put the estimated appraised value of the homes at about $173 million. Of the $144 million, $54.2 million was promissory notes, a figure that came from the broker and that the Monitor says has not been reconciled.
What the $144 million was
| At filing, January 2024 | Amount | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| First mortgages | About $81.5 million | Secured on the homes |
| Second mortgages | About $8.6 million | Secured on the homes |
| Promissory notes | $54.2 million | "the amount initially provided by Ms. Drage", the broker |
| Total reported | About $144 million |
Fourth Report of the Monitor, redacted (Jun 11, 2024), s.1.0 para 4; Third Report of the Monitor (Apr 2024), s.2.0; Eleventh Report of the Monitor (Feb 20, 2025), s.2 para 3
What it was set against
| On the other side | Figure |
|---|---|
| Estimated appraised value of the homes, in the Monitor's pre-filing report, based on appraisals of about 30 per cent of them | About $173 million |
| Refinancing term sheets received before the filing | About $70 million and about $89 million |
| Rent at filing, in the Monitor's words "gross monthly rent" | About $500,000 a month |
| Added operating cash flow the Monitor expected from finishing the vacant units | About $5 million a year |
Pre-Filing Report of the Proposed Monitor (Jan 2024), s.2.0 paras 3 to 4; Affidavit of Robert Clark sworn Mar 27, 2024, para 14; Fourth Report of the Monitor, redacted (Jun 11, 2024), s.4.3 para 3; First Report of the Monitor (Jan 29, 2024), s.5.2
The $54.2 million of promissory notes
The Monitor's own report of June 11, 2024 records the dispute: "The Applicants have asserted that the amounts owed to unsecured promissory noteholders is significantly less than the $54.2 million". Its later reports describe the $54.2 million as "the amount initially provided by Ms. Drage", the broker, and state that a reconciliation "has not been completed".
The companies' own reconciliation puts the promissory note debt at about $22.06 million. A director told the Monitor's counsel in May 2024 that "the SID team had asked regularly for reporting for documents for reconciliation" from the broker's firm, and that "a number of those promissory notes never hit my bank account or any bank account of an applicant".
In December 2025 the broker who supplied the promissory note figure admitted to fraud in a settlement with the Ontario Securities Commission. No borrower company was a respondent, and no borrower is named in the settlement.
A claims process opened on July 30, 2026 to determine the amount. It limits mortgage and note claims to principal. Fifteenth Report of the Monitor (Jul 21, 2026), s.7.0 para 2; Claims Procedure Order Jul 30, 2026, para 15
What happened to the debt
The portfolio was never tested on the open market. About 82 per cent of it passed to the mortgage lenders by credit bid, in exchange for their mortgage claims. The Monitor projects about $800,000 for all creditors outside the mortgaged property proceeds, against more than $50 million of principal claims. Over the same period, $10.09 million of professional fees was paid from the Monitor's account. Thirteenth Report of the Monitor (Jul 21, 2025), s.3.1; Fifteenth Report of the Monitor (Jul 21, 2026), s.6.0 para 5, s.6.3 para 3(c), s.9.0
What was reported, and what the record shows · Who raised the money · The sale and the buyers · Cost of the CCAA · Questions and answers
- On December 6, 2024 the court found the companies' $140M valuation of the portfolio "not credible". Endorsement of Justice Osborne (Dec 6, 2024), paras 10 to 11
- The appraised value in the pre-filing report rests on appraisals of about 30 per cent of the homes. Pre-Filing Report of the Proposed Monitor (Jan 2024), s.2.0 paras 3 to 4
- The companies filed for protection with about $144M of funded debt and 207 vacant units. Pre-Filing Report of the Proposed Monitor (Jan 2024), s.2.0