FILE PHOTO - Workers at The Hudson's Bay store in Kamloops walked out of the job just before Christmas in 2023, shutting the doors for five months.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

As Hudson's Bay liquidates the merchandise in nearly all its stores, several Kamloops and Okanagan businesses are left with unpaid bills from the retailer that's older than Canada itself.

The company is behind on hundreds of thousands in bills in the Southern Interior including rent, electrical work and landscaping.

Documents listing the businesses, government agencies and banks across Canada and the U.S. show Hudson's Bay Company owed nearly a billion dollars and at least $415,000 of that in Kamloops and the Okanagan.

An Ontario judge allowed the company to liquidate nearly all its assets down from 80 stores under the Hudson's Bay brand to just six, all within Ontario and Quebec.

Kamloops, Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon each host a location that will soon see their entire inventory cleared out and mall spaces vacant.

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Between the four it's Vernon where the Hudson's Bay Company holds the most debt, $286,803.

Most of that is owed to BentallGreenOak, which owns the Village Green Shopping Centre. Between two of its subsidiaries, Hudson's Bay owes nearly $283,000. The rest is split between the City of Vernon and a plumbing and electrical company.

The debt is less than half that in Kamloops with a total $117,600 in debt accounted for in the list of creditors, and $76,547 of that is owed to Aberdeen Mall. The rest is spread among unpaid bills for electrical work, landscaping, furniture and elevator repair.

The more than $400,000 in debts attributed to the four locations is far below the true total, however, because some creditors either own multiple companies or would serve multiple locations. Just how much Hudson's Bay is behind on rent in Kelowna and Penticton, for example, isn't clear.

The parent companies for Orchard Park Mall and Cherry Lane Shopping Centre are landlords for multiple Hudson's Bay locations. Ontario company Primaris, which owns Orchard Park, is owed nearly $1.4 million, but it hosts seven Hudson's Bay locations across its Canadian malls. A Manulife Financial investment fund, meanwhile, is owed $180,000 between its Penticton and Victoria malls.

No other debts appear in Penticton, but a Kelowna electrical company and a fire protection company show more than $10,000 in unpaid bills.

Aside from location-specific debts, others include $190,000 owed to FortisBC, around $300,000 and $149,000 for worker's compensation in B.C.

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Among hundreds of companies, the amounts documented range from little more than a thousand dollars to multi-million dollar debts.

What will happen to the thousands of employees losing their jobs isn't clear.

“Workers deserve clarity and fairness, not vague promises or backroom deals,” Jordan Lawrence, spokesperson for the Kamloops location's union, said in a statement.

The United Steelworkers union representing the retail employees came to a mediated agreement with Hudson's Bay just last year after a five-month strike.

“Hudson’s Bay has been a cornerstone of our community for over 45 years. Generations of families have shopped at this store and been served by our amazing members, who have taken great pride in their work. The liquidation and the company’s ongoing financial struggles are deeply concerning," Lawrence said.

The six remaining locations mean Hudson's Bay will remain alive for now, but without any Western Canada locations.

Hudson's Bay holds a unique place in Canada's history, entwined with early colonial economy. It held one fur trading post, Fort Kamloops, in the Southern Interior from 1821 to 1885. The company was established in the 17th century and dominated much of early Canada's fur trade.

Now owned by an American investment company, it filed for creditor protection earlier this month, struggling to keep up with routine payments.

— With files from The Canadian Press.

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