Vaughan Toy Supplier Left Owed $166K

Kids VIP Canada, a family-run toy business in Woodbridge, Ontario, says Toys “R” Us Canada never paid for a large shipment of ride-on toys ordered before the 2025 holiday season. Victoria Shnaider, one of the company’s owners, told local media this week that the retailer owes about C$168,000 for products it received and sold. The claim surfaced months after Toys “R” Us Canada sought creditor protection under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act on February 3, 2026, according to court materials posted by monitor Alvarez & Marsal. The case has since moved into asset sales, leaving unsecured suppliers like Kids VIP uncertain about whether they will recover anything. ### How much does Kids VIP say it is owed? Victoria Shnaider said Kids VIP is owed C$168,000 for goods shipped to Toys “R” Us Canada. In an interview reported by CityNews and republished by Toronto Life, she said that figure reflects the cost of the products and that the company’s “actual loss” is around C$600,000 once other business impacts are included. (toronto.citynews.ca) Woodbridge-based Kids VIP sells high-end ride-on toys, including miniature luxury vehicles, from a showroom on Trowers Road, according to CityNews. Shnaider said the business was started in 2017 by her and her husband after they immigrated to Canada. ### When did the dispute start? Last fall, Shnaider said, Toys “R” Us Canada placed a large order ahead of the Christmas shopping season. (toronto.citynews.ca) She told CityNews the products were delivered, sold, and never paid for, and that repeated calls and emails seeking payment eventually went unanswered. January 2026 was when Shnaider said she began court action, filing paperwork for a lawsuit. (toronto.citynews.ca) Days later, on February 3, Toys “R” Us Canada obtained creditor protection, which paused proceedings as the restructuring moved into court supervision. ### What does creditor protection mean for a supplier like Kids VIP? (toronto.citynews.ca) February 3, 2026 is the date Toys “R” Us Canada applied to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for relief under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, and Alvarez & Marsal was appointed monitor, according to the monitor’s website. The process created a stay of proceedings while the company pursued a restructuring and sale process. (toronto.citynews.ca) CityNews reported that Kids VIP is among the retailer’s unsecured creditors. Toronto lawyer David Milosevic told the outlet that secured creditors are paid first, a distinction that matters because unsecured suppliers typically stand behind lenders and some other claimants in insolvency proceedings. Shnaider said her understanding from communications with the monitor was that her company was unlikely to recover its money. (alvarezandmarsal.com) ### What happened to Toys “R” Us Canada during the court process? April 1, 2026 was when the court approved a sale and investment solicitation process for Toys “R” Us Canada, according to Alvarez & Marsal. The monitor said the process later produced three successful bids. June 22 brought court approval for three transactions, according to CBC, including a deal for Ad Populum to acquire intellectual property and a separate transaction involving a numbered company run by owner Doug Putman for much of the remaining business and assets. (toronto.citynews.ca) CBC reported that Toys “R” Us Canada owed at least C$120 million to vendors and substantial sums to landlords, and had shrunk to 15 stores and 260 employees. (alvarezandmarsal.com) July 8, July 10 and July 13 were the closing dates for the three transactions, Alvarez & Marsal said. The monitor’s site says the Vaughan Mills lease closed separately on July 8, the numbered-company transaction closed July 10, and the Ad Populum intellectual-property transaction closed July 13. ### What comes next for Kids VIP and other suppliers? Kids VIP has said publicly that it fears it will not be repaid. (cbc.ca) Shnaider told CityNews that the company did not know whether it could stay open through the end of the year if the money is not recovered. The next public record in the case is likely to come through the monitor’s Toys “R” Us Canada restructuring page, where court orders, reports and sale-process updates are posted. (alvarezandmarsal.com) Alvarez & Marsal says it remains the court-appointed monitor for the proceeding that began on February 3, 2026. (toronto.citynews.ca)