Justice Karen Horner has ordered into receivership 56 Alberta buildings the developer owns. Alvarez and Marsal Canada were ordered to take possession of the properties and can operate them on behalf of the lenders to which Strategic is indebted. (The Globe and Mail)

Talking point: This is a loss for Strategic, one of Canada’s largest real estate firms, which sought creditor protection last month, claiming about a third of Calgary’s office space was vacant or available for sublease. It’s a victory for lenders, including BMO and RBC, which argued in court that Strategic was trying to put its interests ahead of theirs. There are some signs Calgary’s office rental market is improving. The city released data Thursday showing office property values were up one per cent, following four years of decline that eliminated over $14 billion in value. However, the office market is still struggling, largely as a knock-on effect of low oil prices, with vacancy rates still at over 27 per cent.