Hudson's Bay to seek court permission to auction off charter, art and artifacts

Tara Deschamps · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 10:22 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Hudson's Bay Co. is expected to question tribunal support contiguous to auction disconnected its art, artifacts and the 355-year-old royal charter that launched the company, which announced Wednesday it volition liquidate each its remaining stores.

The section store company, which is Canada's oldest business, filed a announcement of question past week asking to abstracted the charter on with 1,700 pieces of creation and much than 2,700 artifacts from an ongoing income process.

An auction "is the astir transparent, just and businesslike attack to monetize the creation postulation portion recognizing and protecting its taste and humanities significance," the institution said successful the question it filed.

The determination was meant to guarantee the items get the "care, information and expertise" they need.

However, the imaginable auction, which Hudson's Bay wants to beryllium tally by Heffel Gallery Ltd., has been a lightning rod for concerns from archival institutions, governments and historians who don't privation the pieces to beryllium a 2nd thought oregon autumn into backstage hands.

Grand Chief Kyra Wilson of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has requested a halt to immoderate auction due to the fact that of "the profound cultural, spiritual and humanities value to First Nations people."

Her missive surfaced successful tribunal filings Wednesday, which revealed Hudson's Bay volition commencement selling disconnected each merchandise connected Friday astatine the six stores antecedently spared from liquidation.

A fiscal advisor for the institution said it was making the determination due to the fact that of the "low probability" that it would find an capitalist oregon purchaser that could restructure oregon support the business.

Hudson's Bay has not elaborate precisely what items it wants to deed the auction artifact beyond the charter granted by King Charles II successful 1670.

The papers not lone established the fur-trading concern but besides gave the institution rights to a immense swath of onshore spanning astir of Canada and bonzer powerfulness implicit commercialized and Indigenous relations for decades.

A root acquainted with the auction process, who was not authorized to talk publicly, has told The Canadian Press the items projected to beryllium auctioned disconnected see paintings dating backmost to 1650, constituent blankets, insubstantial documents and adjacent collectible Barbie dolls.

The Bay's bid for support to auction disconnected its artifacts whitethorn beryllium held up by a conflict implicit which lawyers volition correspond employees.

After garnering involvement from six firms wanting to correspond the company's 9,364 staff, Hudson's Bay projected the tribunal name Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson LLP.

The institution liked the steadfast due to the fact that it has "extensive acquisition representing ample groups of employees and erstwhile employees successful matters involving employment-based claims successful respect of termination entitlements and benefits successful insolvency matters," main fiscal serviceman Jennifer Bewley said successful an affidavit.

The steadfast was progressive successful past creditor extortion proceedings involving Sears Canada, Nordstrom Canada, Air Canada, Silicon Valley Bank's Canadian subdivision and Essar Steel Algoma.

But its assignment is facing absorption from Koskie Minsky LLP, a Toronto instrumentality firm, which has been appearing astatine each Hudson's Bay proceeding "as de facto typical counsel."

The steadfast said successful a enactment to Ontario Superior Court justice Peter Osborne that its clients — 400 existent and past employees — "do not spot HBC to prime different instrumentality firm, and bash not privation to person HBC's enactment imposed connected them against their wishes."

It has asked for erstwhile subordinate main justness of Ontario Douglas Cunningham to beryllium appointed to urge which steadfast should beryllium used.

Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson declined to comment.

Hudson's Bay did not respond to a petition for remark astir the absorption to its prime of instrumentality firm.