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Anna Lund, an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Law, feels passionately about bankruptcy law. “Bankruptcy law is incredibly compelling.  It’s legally mandated debt forgiveness.  People who have met with misfortune, or who have just made some bad decisions, are given a second chance, a fresh start.  But not everybody is given the same opportunity to get a fresh start, and that raises some provocative questions about fairness.” [caption id="attachment_285" align="alignright" width="180"] Anna Lund[/caption]   She’s bringing that passion for bankruptcy law to a research project on gambling and insolvency. The topic emerged organically from her PhD research. “The federal legislation which governs the Canadian bankruptcy system singles out gambling as a type of misconduct. When debtors admit that their bankruptcies resulted from gambling, they may be denied the benefit of debt forgiveness,” says Ms. Lund. During my PhD research, I interviewed insolvency trustees across Canada, and reviewed written decisions from bankruptcy court. I found very divergent attitudes towards this aspect of the legislation.  Some people view gambling as blameworthy behavior that should be penalized.  Others view it as an addiction, on par with other mental illnesses, and are uncomfortable with the idea that we would penalize people who suffer from this condition.” The next stage of her research, currently underway, involves interviewing individuals, who have made use of insolvency proceedings to address gambling related debt. “I’m interested in learning about their experiences of the insolvency system. Did it help them to address their financial and gambling problems? What else could or should the insolvency system be doing to help these individuals make a genuine fresh start?” People interested in participating in the study can learn more HERE.  The end goal of the project is to make recommendations for legal reform, but also to provide insolvency trustees with practical guidance on how to apply the legislation, and what they can do to support problem gamblers who have turned to insolvency. The project has been funded by the Alberta Gambling Research Institute, an interdisciplinary research consortium of the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge.