City recoups $616K in taxes owed by insolvent landlords

The City of Sault of Sault Ste. Marie has been paid more than $600,000 in outstanding property taxes owed to the municipality by a group of now-insolvent landlords that own more than 150 properties locally. 

City solicitor Karen Fields confirmed the payment of $616,004 with SooToday via email Wednesday, adding that a partial payment of $4 million was granted by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice during a Jan. 31 court hearing concerning the ongoing insolvency proceedings. “By the next court appearance on February 15, 2024, all outstanding taxes had been paid,” Fields said. 

As first reported by SooToday, the directors behind 11 insolvent corporations — Aruba Butt, Ryan Molony and Dylan Suitor — filed for protection from creditors in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in late January, claiming they owe approximately $147 million in unpaid loans and have less than $100,000 in the bank amid rising interest rates and falling home prices. 

The group owns more than 600 rental units in housing markets across Ontario with lower average costs of living, including Timmins, Sudbury and the Sault.  

The now-insolvent corporations helmed by Butt, Molony and Suitor are affiliated with SID Developments, SID Management and SID Renos, all of which are based in Burlington, Ont. Together, they are referred to in court documents as a group of companies “specializing in the acquisition, renovation and leasing of distressed residential real estate in undervalued markets throughout Ontario.” 

The SID family of companies was founded by Robert 'Robby' Clark, a former child actor known for his starring role on The Zack Files, a Canadian sci-fi television series which aired on YTV from 2000 to 2002.

Seven of the corporations affiliated with SID Developments currently own 152 properties in Sault Ste. Marie alone, court documents show. There are 201 rental units within those properties — 79 of which are sitting vacant. 

Court filings from the insolvency proceedings revealed that approximately $775,000 was owed to a number of creditors locally, including the City of Sault Ste. Marie and PUC. That dollar amount also includes several local contractors that are owed more than $80,000 combined. 

Earlier this week, SooToday reported that the group of now-insolvent landlords had its protection from creditors extended until the end of March. It was also given access to a $12-million credit facility in order to borrow from during the restructuring of its financial and business affairs.