Funding Heritage: Wealth, Access, and Legacy

The Hudson’s Bay Company is dead. 

While the Canadian media obsesses over the sale of The Bay’s retail properties, thousands of historical artefacts and artworks — including the original copy of the Royal Charter — sit concealed in the cockles of the company’s dustiest vault. Now, Canada’s oldest retailer is hemming and hawing over donating these culturally-significant artefacts to Indigenous communities requesting them, or selling the artefacts for cold, hard cash… all-the-while refusing to share what’s in their inventory.

Taylor Noakes chats with Jesse about why the Bay’s obfuscation of their collection is more important than a document — even one the king signed.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Jules Bugiel (Producer), Lucie Laumonier (Associate Producer and Fact Checking), tom sayers (Audio Editor), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)

Guest: Taylor Noakes

This episode uses generative AI for the following purposes: Voice cloning of Canadaland’s editor and publisher Jesse Brown.

NOTE: A previous version of this episode included a shorter version of Ruby Liu's email to Justice Peter Osborne. The new version includes more of the email.

Further reading: 

• Despite requests from Indigenous leaders, HBC artifacts will not be returned - Ricochet     
• Billionaire David Thomson wants to buy Hudson's Bay charter, donate it to Manitoba Archives - CBC
• B.C. billionaire wanting Bay leases doesn't have cash to launch new chain: landlord - The Canadian Press
• Liberal MPs call for action against antisemitism after stabbing of Jewish woman in Ottawa - The Globe and Mail

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