TORONTO /CNW/ – Gen7 Fuel (Gen7), a retail chain of indigenous owed retail gas stations and convenience stores in Ontario, is claiming that KPMG, the court-appointed monitor over the financial restructuring of one of the company’s major fuel suppliers, has engaged in a deliberate campaign to influence its banking partners to close at its accounts and freeze assets.
In January 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice named KPMG to manage the restructuring of Original Traders Energy Ltd.’s (OTE) multi-million-dollar debt through the Canadian Corporate Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) process. Prior to the restructuring process, Gen7 was OTE’s largest single customer purchasing often five million litres or more of gasoline products a week.
“Each time KPMG has told one of our banking partners to refuse our business, the banks have followed the court-monitor’s advice, said Mat Mcleod, President, Gen7 Fuel. “However, once we’ve been able to meet with our banking partners and explain that we have no relationship to the OTE and its CCAA process, the banks have resumed their relationships with us, at least temporarily. Our reputation has been harmed and the continued attacks on our banking arrangements has impaired our ability to manage the millions of dollars a day in fuel and convenience store transactions.”
Gen7 has six locations in Ontario, each majority owned by First Nations community members. By combining their resources, they are able to purchase quality fuel at reasonable prices and compete with large oil brands.
In the summer of 2022, OTE had canceled all contracts with Gen7, without notice, leaving the retail chain to find alternative fuel supply.
Mcleod said, “We have no role in OTE’s CCAA process. We are not a creditor nor owe the company any money. As a customer, we stopped doing business with OTE in 2022. Soon after that relationship ended, OTE filed for creditor protection.”
Since that time, Gen7 Fuels has not had any business relationship with OTE.
Mcleod said, “We are reviewing our legal options to prevent any further harassment and potential interruption of our business. KPMG is not only harming us, it is also threatening the financial welfare of our employees, suppliers, and the Indigenous communities we serve.
