What is a debenture and how is it different from a general security agreement?

A debenture is a debt instrument that historically evidenced a corporation's borrowing and often carried the security language creating fixed and floating charges over the corporation's assets, using terminology that traces back to older commercial lending practice. A general security agreement is the more commonly used modern document that serves essentially the same practical purpose — granting a lender a broad security interest over a corporation's personal property — but drafted specifically to work within Ontario's Personal Property Security Act framework.

In practice, many Ontario lenders today use a general security agreement rather than a traditional debenture, though debentures are still used, sometimes alongside a general security agreement, particularly in larger or more complex financing structures, or where fixed and floating charge terminology is specifically wanted. Both types of document ultimately need to be registered under the PPSA to protect the lender's priority against other creditors — using one form over the other doesn't change that basic requirement. If you're presented with either document, what matters most is understanding the actual collateral covered and remedies granted, not just which label the document uses.