Jul. 25, 2025 "Hudson's Bay reaches deals to sell leases for six of its store locations": Today I found this article by Ian Bickis on CBC:
Hudson's Bay has reached deals to sell the leases of six store locations, as legal wrangling continues on work to close a deal to sell up to 25 leases to B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu.
Legal filings show clothing retailer YM Inc., which owns brands such as
Urban Planet,
Bluenotes,
West49
and Suzy Shier,
has struck a deal to buy five leases for $5.03 million.
The documents show it was unable to secure landlord approvals for three other locations.
The five leases include
Vaughan Mills in Vaughan, Ont.,
Tanger Outlets in Kanata, Ont.,
Outlet Collection in Winnipeg,
CrossIron Mills near Calgary,
and Toronto Premium Outlets in Halton Hills, Ont.
YM had also sought to buy leases in Pickering, Ont., Saskatoon and a location in Edmonton for $1 million, but landlord waivers weren't secured for those properties.
Separately, Ivanhoe Realties Inc. has agreed to pay $20,000 for a lease at Metrotown in Burnaby, B.C., that its parent company Ivanhoe Cambridge owns.
The deals, which require court approval before any leases can be transferred, mark the Bay's latest attempt at recouping money for its lenders and hundreds of creditors who are owed almost $1 billion collectively.
Hudson's Bay put its leases up for sale earlier this year, after it filed for creditor protection and closed its 80 stores and 16 under its sister Saks banners.
A dozen bidders made offers on a total of 39 properties.
One of the bidders who wanted those spaces was Liu.
She paid $6 million for three leases at malls she owns — Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo, Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria and Tsawwassen Mills in Delta. That deal got court approval last month and the leases were transferred back to Liu.
Liu was also chosen by the Bay to buy 25 other leases. Landlords are fighting that sale because they say she has not filed a business plan that is credible or realistic.
Court filings show Hudson's Bay is looking for
more time to close the YM and Ivanhoe transactions,
seek approval of the Liu deal
and conduct an auction of art holdings,
among other measures aimed at maximizing returns to stakeholders.
It's seeking an extension of creditor protection from the July 31 deadline to Oct. 31 to complete the efforts.
Jul. 30, 2025 "Weston family wants to buy Hudson's Bay charter and donate it, according to documents": Today I found this article on CBC:
The royal charter that formed Hudson's Bay about 355 years ago could soon be getting a new home.
The Canadian Museum of History announced Wednesday that Wittington Investments Ltd., a private Canadian holding company for the Weston family, wants to buy the document for $12.5 million and donate it to the Quebec institution.
The charter was signed by King Charles II in 1670. It gave the Bay rights to a vast swath of land spanning most of Canada and extraordinary power over trade and Indigenous relations for decades more.
The museum says the acquisition still needs court approval but if that is obtained, the Westons will donate the document immediately and permanently.
"At a time when Canada is navigating profound challenges and seeking renewed unity, it is more important than ever that we hold fast to the symbols and stories that define us as a nation," said Galen Weston in a statement.
"The royal charter is an important artifact within Canada's complex history. Our goal is to ensure it is
preserved with care,
shared with integrity,
and made accessible to all Canadians,
especially those whose histories are deeply intertwined with its legacy."
His family made its fortune through Canadian retail chains including Holt Renfrew, as well as several European department stores.
As part of its proposed purchase of the charter, the family has offered $1 million in additional funding. The museum said it will support "a meaningful consultation process" with Indigenous people on how the royal charter "can be
shared,
interpreted
and contextualized
in a manner that respects Indigenous perspectives and historical experiences."
The funding will help the museum share the charter with other museums and through public exhibitions.
Caroline Dromaguet, the museum's president and CEO, said the donation is of "enormous importance to Canada" and "will serve as a catalyst for national dialogue, education and reconciliation for generations to come."
The Westons expressed an interest in the charter in May, after the Bay filed for creditor protection in March under the weight of $1.1 billion in debt. It made a formal offer by June.
The Bay was drawn to the $12.5 million offer because it "substantially" exceeded the value the charter had been given during a 2022 insurance appraisal, said Adam Zalev, co-founder of Bay financial advisor Reflect Advisors, in a court filing made Wednesday.
The Bay also liked the offer because of the additional funding to ensure Indigenous communities and archival institutes have access to the charter.
The charter was originally due to be sold during a future auction the Bay was preparing to run with Heffel Gallery to sell 2,700 artifacts and 1,700 art pieces the retailer owned. A court motion filed Wednesday asks a judge to approve the removal of the charter from any eventual auction.
When the Bay first floated the idea of running an auction to offload its treasures, it sparked concern from archival institutions, governments and Indigenous groups, including the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. They worried it would allow pieces of Canadian and Indigenous history to wind up in private hands and away from public view.
To quell their concerns, the Bay started allowing groups to view an inventory of the collection if they sign non-disclosure agreements.
A source familiar with the Bay's collection, who was not authorized to speak publicly, told The Canadian Press previously that paintings, point blankets, paper documents and even collectible Barbie dolls are part of the trove.
Historians say they believe the charter is likely the most coveted piece in the retailer's collection.
"It's 100 per cent their crown jewel," said Cody Groat, a historian of Canadian and Indigenous history who serves as the chair of the UNESCO Memory of the World Advisory Committee in an April interview.
"There is no doubt this is the most significant document that the Hudson's Bay Company has access to or that they've ever produced."
Thomas Caldwell, CEO of Toronto investment manager Urbana Corp., agreed. He told The Canadian Press in the spring that he was interested in purchasing and giving the parchment document with a royal wax seal to a museum.
At the time, he said donating the piece would "make more sense" for whoever buys it because "it's a big hassle to have something historic like that in an office or in a home."
He speculated that it would need to be insured, have constant security and likely require storage in precise temperatures to preserve it.
For many years, the Bay kept the royal charter at its head office in Toronto, but Zalev said it was recently moved to "a secure facility specifically equipped to store and protect important documents, art and artifacts."
The charter was temporarily loaned to the Manitoba Museum in 2020.
That museum and the Archives of Manitoba hold the bulk of the Bay's artifacts. The company donated them to the organizations in the 1990s, so many thought they'd be a natural home for the charter.
"We think of [the charter] as part of our records in a way already because ... we've got the rest of the story and so we feel like it makes sense for the charter to be here and to be as publicly accessible as any of the other records," Kathleen Epp, keeper of Manitoba's Hudson's Bay Company archives, told The Canadian Press in April.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/weston-family-hbc-charter-1.7597947
The other 2 blog posts of the week:
"Hudson's Bay fires back at lender seeking termination of Ruby Liu deal: court docs"/ "Hudson's Bay hearing on lease deal adjourned, Ruby Liu appears without lawyer"
https://badcb.blogspot.com/2025/08/hudsons-bay-fires-back-at-lender.html
"B.C. billionaire hosts job fair in Toronto amid bid for Hudson's Bay leases"/ "Hudson's Bay takes landlords to court over billionaire's lease takeover"
Bocheng Mei said his hands and feet grew numb when he realized he had won $60 million in the LOTTO 6/49 Gold Ball.
The 26-year-old from Toronto, who works in the software industry, said he got a phone call from an unknown number — a representative from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). Mei had missed an email informing him that he had won a prize, and the caller asked him to check his OLG account.
"I'm talking to OLG people, but at the same time I'm googling the number, googling trying to find any information to verify if this is legit," he said in a video provided by OLG announcing his win from the May 7 draw.
After Mei saw the win in his account, he said his first call was to his parents.
"I said, 'now you guys never have to worry about money anymore. You can just retire now, you can enjoy the rest of your life,'" he said.
He said his friends were jumping for joy when he told them the news.
Mei said he plans to use the win to further his education and travel around the world — particularly to Antarctica, Finland and Iceland.
"[I'd] love to see the Aurora Borealis and just everything that's new to me," he said.
https://ca.yahoo.com/news/toronto-man-26-wins-60m-150003732.html
Robyn Manzano, a registered psychologist and the clinic director of Refresh Counselling in Calgary, said summertime shame and guilt come up in her practice all the time. She said the fixes can be tiny — be it a few minutes spent outside in the morning with a mug of coffee or a walk around the block after dinner.
"It could just be, 'OK, I'm going to go stand outside for a little bit and bask in the sun," she said. "Or the thing that I'm doing indoors, can I take it outside? Or, you know, can I have a picnic? Can I read my book outside? Can I watch whatever it is outside?"
young adult fantasy novels
The Violet Fox Series is my young adult fantasy novel series, about a young woman who must pretend to be a princess to save her people's secrets.
young adult science fiction novels
The Sparkstone Saga is about superpowered teens fighting a secret alien invasion at an illusive university, set in Alberta, Canada.
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