Hudson's Bay Company records give public chance to 'reconnect' with ancestors
WINNIPEG – Dyana Lavallee stares at a copy of a photograph on display to the public at the Hudson's Bay Company Archives in Winnipeg.
The Metis woman quickly recognizes it as the same one her grandmother had years ago.
'This is my family,' she said referring to the figures in the picture. 'I'm actually shaking a bit.'
It's not the first time Lavallee has visited the archives, but it is the first time she's seen that photo among the thousands of historical documents that are housed at the Archives of Manitoba.
The collection, which is owned by the province, features items including the company's first minutes book from 1671, historical maps, videos, audio recordings and so many diaries, letters and research notes that the textual records alone take up more than 1,500 linear metres of shelf space.
Hudson's Bay donated the collection to the province in 1994.
On Friday, the archives opened its doors to the public to celebrate the 355th anniversary of the company's beginnings, and as North America's oldest corporation is facing its demise.
Hudson's Bay filed for creditor protection in March after it could no longer pay its bills due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, an intensifying trade war and depressed store traffic.
Amid store liquidation and a hunt for buyers for the business and its assets, the company has been given permission by an Ontario judge to auction off the 4,400 artifacts and art pieces in its possession, including the 355-year-old royal charter that launched the company.
None of the items in the provincial archives are included in the auction.
Since news of The Bay's plans to auction artifacts, archivists, historians and First Nations groups have been calling for the pieces to be returned to Indigenous nations or be given to public institutions where they will be available for all to see.
Lavallee, who works in the Manitoba Metis Federation's Culture and Heritage department, agrees.
'It doesn't make sense to me to lock someone else's history away for personal use,' she said. 'It helps people reconnect with their ancestry. It gives them answers to their past.'
Lavallee has been able to use the Hudson's Bay Company Archives to learn more about her ancestor James Bird, a high-ranking officer with the company who was born in England and settled in what is now known as Canada.
Kathleen Epp has seen the value in making records accessible to the public.
'There are different questions asked of the records every year, so they stay alive in a way,' said Epp, who is the keeper of the province's Hudson's Bay Company Archives.
'People come with questions that (the company) never would have envisioned when they created the records, and they find value in whatever they're studying and in the answers that they find.'
Not only has Epp seen the records used to trace genealogy, but also to study climate change because trading posts often recorded the weather, and animal populations were tracked by visiting and documenting trap lines.
Epp and her team are working to breathe new life into the company's records on Indigenous Peoples. The archives include photographs from Nunavut and Northwest Territories, and the team is trying to identify the people taken in the historical photos.
There are also account books that document trading with Indigenous Peoples.
'Those account books often give the names of people but also it may be the Indigenous name or it may show how names changed over time,' she said.
'There's actually quite a lot of genealogical information there for people to trace their families but also to trace names.'
First Nations groups have asked for a halt to the auction so that cultural, ceremonial or sacred items in The Bay's collection may be returned to the communities that they belong to.
The Bay is expected to return to court at a later date to detail exactly what items beyond the royal charter it wants to sell and how the auction process will unfold.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 2, 2025.
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Toronto Star
15 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Bank of Canada head Tiff Macklem says mandate should evolve in a ‘shock-prone' world
OTTAWA — Tiff Macklem is wearing an Edmonton Oilers pin as he reflects on coming very close to beating big odds. It's a significant day for the governor of the Bank of Canada: he's just laid out his reasons to the entire country and a global audience for keeping the central bank's benchmark interest rate steady for a second straight time. That night is also Game 1 of the NHL's Stanley Cup finals; Macklem ends his press conference with a hearty 'Go Oilers!' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW It's a rematch from last year's heartbreak, when the Oilers came oh-so-close to mounting a seemingly impossible four-game comeback against the Florida Panthers, only to fall short by a single goal in Game 7. Macklem, too, was almost safe to declare victory last year. He had just about secured a coveted 'soft landing' for Canada's economy — a rare feat that sees restrictive monetary policy bring down surging levels of inflation without tipping the economy into a prolonged downturn. 'We got inflation down. We didn't cause a recession,' Macklem said in an interview with The Canadian Press after the rate announcement Wednesday. 'And, to be frank, until President (Donald) Trump started threatening the economy with new tariffs, we were actually seeing growth pick up.' Fresh out of one crisis, the central bank now must contend with another in U.S. tariffs. Five years into his tenure as head of the Bank of Canada, Macklem said he sees the central bank's role in stickhandling the economy — as well as Canada's role on the world stage — evolving. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Many Canadians have become more familiar with the Bank of Canada in recent years. After the COVID-19 pandemic recovery ignited inflation, the central bank's rapid tightening cycle and subsequent rate cuts were top-line news for anxious Canadians stressed about rising prices and borrowing costs. That was all in pursuit of meeting the central bank's inflation target of two per cent, part of a mandate from the federal government that's up for review next year. Macklem said the past few years have led the Bank of Canada to scrutinize some of its metrics, like core inflation and how it responds to supply shocks in the economy. But he defends keeping the bank's inflation target, particularly at a time of global upheaval. 'Our flexible inflation targeting framework has just been through the biggest test it's ever had in the 30 years since we announced the inflation target,' he said. 'I'm not going to pretend it's been an easy few years for anybody. But I think the framework has performed well.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Macklem said, however, that he sees room to build out the mandate to address other areas of concern from Canadians, such as housing affordability. Whether it's the high cost of rent or a mortgage, or surging prices for groceries and vehicles, Macklem said the past few years have been eye-opening to Canadians who weren't around the last time inflation hit double digits in the 1980s. 'Unfortunately, a whole new generation of Canadians now know what inflation feels like, and they didn't like it one bit,' he said. Monetary policy itself can't make homes more affordable, he noted — in a nutshell, high interest rates make mortgages more expensive while low rates can push up the price of housing itself because they stoke demand. But Macklem said one of the things he's reflecting on is that inflation can get worse when the economy isn't operating at its potential or when it's facing great disruption. 'There is a role for monetary policy to smooth out some of that adjustment — support the economy while ensuring that inflation is well-controlled.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW He didn't offer suggestions on how the mandate might expand to address housing affordability specifically, but said 'the work is ongoing' and will be settled in meetings with the federal government next year. Right now, he's trying to make sure that the economic impacts from Canada's tariff dispute with the United States don't result in prolonged inflation. The Bank of Canada is not alone in debating how monetary policy ought to respond in what Macklem called a more 'shock-prone' world. The G7 Finance Ministers' Summit in Kananaskis, Alta., last month also featured round tables with the bloc's central bankers. Conversations at the summit were 'candid,' Macklem said, and though the nations issued a joint statement at the close of the event, that doesn't mean they agreed on everything. 'International co-operation, to be honest, has never been easy. It is particularly difficult right now, but that doesn't make it less important. That makes it more important,' he said. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'I do think Canada, as the chair of the G7, has a leadership role to play.' The Bank of Canada is also changing the way it has conversations with Canadians and the kind of data it considers. A day after the June interest rate decision, deputy governor Sharon Kozicki told a Toronto business crowd how the central bank is using data more nimbly, relying heavily on surveys and more granular information to make monetary policy decisions in an uncertain time. These sources offer a faster way to see what's happening on the ground in the economy than traditional statistical models allow. Macklem said the central bank would previously have dismissed most supply shocks as transitory — likely to pass without the need for central bank adjustments, such as rising and falling oil prices. But he said the Bank of Canada needs to be running a more 'nuanced playbook' now to respond to some increasingly common shocks: supply chain disruptions, trade conflicts and extreme weather to name a few. An overheating economy running up against a supply disruption is the kind of inflationary fire Macklem is trying to avoid in this latest crisis. 'The economy does not work well when inflation is high,' he said. 'And the primary role of the Bank of Canada is to ensure that Canadians maintain confidence in price stability. That's all we can do for the Canadian economy. That's what we can do for Canadians. And that's what we're focused on.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Later in the day on Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers took Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. The Canadian team was down but roared back to win 4-3 in overtime. It's still early in the Bank of Canada's response to the latest global shock. But with any luck, Macklem's team might also get a leg up with lessons learned the last time they faced big odds. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2025. Politics Headlines Newsletter Get the latest news and unmatched insights in your inbox every evening Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Yes, I'd also like to receive customized content suggestions and promotional messages from the Star. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Politics Headlines Newsletter You're signed up! You'll start getting Politics Headlines in your inbox soon. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page.
Winnipeg Free Press
18 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Indigenous-owned Dugald café all about bannock, brew and belonging
DUGALD — The Grey Wolf Café in Dugald is holding its grand opening this weekend and if early reviews are any indication, traffic along neighbouring Highway 15 will be busier than normal. 'You can feel a wonderful spirit as you walk through the door,' wrote one person on the coffee shop's social media page, days after the First Nations-owned enterprise hosted a soft opening in mid-May. 'The bannock was fluffy and tasty… and don't even get me started on the coffee,' commented another. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Tanya Clarke named Grey Wolf Cafe in Dugald, which opens this weekend after her father, who was bestowed the traditional name Grey Wolf Man after his death. 'Great prices, friendly staff… 6/5 in our books,' came one more. 'We've only been open for (three) weeks but we already have our fair share of regulars, including a group of 10 or 12 ladies who'll join a few tables together and stay for a couple of hours, plus students who pop in for caramel lattés and macchiatos,' says owner Tanya Clarke, seated in the tastefully decorated spot situated directly across the street from the Springfield Curling Club. Clarke, a mother of four and grandmother of one, laughs as she recalls a piece of wisdom she received from the manager of Lift Coffee & Tea in nearby Oakbank, when the Grey Wolf Café was still in the formative stage. 'They told me opening a café is like having a child — you can forget about sleeping for the first six months or so,' she says, noting she has invited various dignitaries, including Chief Larry Barker from her home community of Hollow Water First Nation, to this weekend's festivities. 'What I've since discovered is that's the perfect metaphor. There are definitely days when I've felt like I was floating on my feet, not so much from staying up all night fretting over numbers, but more from wondering what else we can do to make coming here a positive experience for everyone.' 'They told me opening a café is like having a child – you can forget about sleeping for the first six months or so'–Tanya Clarke Clarke, a mediator, leadership coach and professional development trainer based out of Yellowquill University College, split her time growing up between Transcona and Interlake districts such as Lundar and Komarno. Her father, who was Anishinaabe, was a residential school survivor. It wasn't until 2016 — five years before he died at 79 — that he began openly discussing that period of his life with his four children. 'My cousins grew up in community but we didn't, and there were definitely occasions of me feeling like I didn't belong,' says Clarke, who was seven when her mother, who was of German descent, died following a prolonged illness. 'When I did find out more about my dad, whose name was George but went by Buddy, things started to make sense for me. I was able to process a lot of what I'd been dealing with — or lacking — when I was younger.' Clarke and her partner Kevin moved to Dugald three years ago. Last June, she was out for a walk with their dog Blue when she noticed there was a vacant space in Dugald Station, a multi-tenant strip mall. The self-described coffee aficionado had always dreamed of running a café of her own, and because her youngest was about to graduate high school, she figured she might actually have the necessary free time to do so. Not to mention that nothing comparable existed in the town of about 800 — a number she understood would continue to grow over the coming years. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Grey Wolf Cafe came to be with the support of First Peoples Economic Growth Fund, an organization that assists First Nations entrepreneurs. After discussing the notion with her family, she set up a meeting with the First Peoples Economic Growth Fund, an organization that encourages and supports First Nations people in Manitoba who are delving into entrepreneurship. She next put together a multi-detailed, 63-page business plan, listing everything from desired menu items to job descriptions for prospective staff to projected sales. The venture required a tag, of course. Clarke says it was an easy decision to go with Grey Wolf for Grey Wolf Man, the traditional name her father received at a ceremony that was held following his death. 'When I was thinking about what to call it, Grey Wolf Café just made sense,' she says, crediting her 29-year-old daughter Sierra for coming up with the howling-wolf logo that adorns one of the café's bay windows. 'And because I do a lot of cultural-awareness training, I felt like it was a good, positive way to celebrate culture not just by honouring my dad, but also anybody else who attended a residential school.' She received the keys to the site on Dec. 1, at which point she promised herself she'd be serving her first cuppa joe by the beginning of February — a timeline she quickly realized wasn't viable, given the amount of updating that was required. New flooring, new wainscoting, a fresh coat of paint, a brick-encased gas fireplace built from scratch, she says, listing some of the renovations she undertook with the assistance of Kevin, her kids and her new landlord. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS A Red Seal chef from York Factory First Nation helped with menu items like the bannock breakfast sandwich. When Clarke wasn't busy making things over, she was spending hours taste-testing as many as 20 coffee blends, prepared with beans roasted in the province. She also recruited Dana Constant, a Red Seal chef from York Factory First Nation she knew from volunteering at Folklorama's First Nations pavilion, to lend a hand on the food side of things. 'We definitely wanted bannock for the breakfast sandwiches and Dana, who is 28 and brilliant, came in and worked with my son Vincenzo. Between the two of them, they arrived at three different (breakfast) sandwiches, as well as a lunch menu that, for now, includes a turkey-BLT and a ham-and-Swiss, both served on ciabatta.' (There is also a selection of pastries and for the younger set, soft-serve ice cream.) Oh those, Clarke smiles, when a visitor asks about a set of handsome wooden armchairs positioned around a live-edge table. Her father gave them to her years ago, and as soon as she decided to open a café she enlisted the services of Anishinaabe textile and interior designer Destiny Seymour to recover them with one of her Indigenous-inspired patterns. Fabian Sanderson (no relation to writer) is the chief executive officer of the First Peoples Economic Growth Fund. While the organization has in the past aided businesses such as gas bars and convenience stores, Sanderson says what they are particularly interested in is working with places where 'restoration… perhaps some reconciliation' is part of the agenda. 'Obviously there are a lot of advancements that have been made — which is fantastic — but there are still prejudices that are alive and well today,' Sanderson says. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Vincenzo Marinelli prepares lunch sandwiches. 'So when you have a company that comes up like this, sometimes it's throwing a dart and hoping it lands because you might have a community that supports it or you might have one that totally rejects it, because of lack of understanding or ignorance. That's why for us, it's super exciting to say, 'Hey, this is what an Indigenous business looks like.'' Sanderson says he and his colleagues feel like 'proud parents' whenever a venture they're involved with begins to get its feet under it and attain its goals. Weekday Evenings Today's must-read stories and a roundup of the day's headlines, delivered every evening. 'To have somebody like Tanya who has kids and who wants to create a business to help support her family is fantastic,' he continues. 'Unfortunately, you still don't see a lot of inter-generational prosperity within the Indigenous community — you see it all over in other areas of the world — so when we witness something that has the potential to be carried on by the next generation, we do whatever we can to help them achieve that success.' Besides running the café, Clarke, who currently has seven employees, all from the general area, intends to market bagged coffee under the Grey Wolf banner at the retail level. That includes one type, Buddy's Blend, named for her dad. She'll also be designating space inside the 23-seat locale — occupancy can be expanded to 37 for anticipated book readings and corporate get-togethers — where Indigenous artisans such as Caroline Cheekie of Cheeky Beader can sell their wares on a consignment basis. 'And my long-term goal would be to have more Grey Wolf Cafés, right?' she says, adding whenever she's unsure of next steps, she seeks guidance from more knowing sorts. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Grey Wolf Cafe will sell bagged coffee, along with wares from Indigenous artisans on a consignment basis. 'I have my dad's photo on the fireplace mantle and if I'm ever stuck, I'll smudge and we'll talk. Mom, too.' MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Lexi Taylor feeds a sweet treat to a canine customer. David Sanderson Dave Sanderson was born in Regina but please, don't hold that against him. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Vancouver Sun
19 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Bank of Canada head Tiff Macklem says mandate should evolve in a 'shock-prone' world
OTTAWA — Tiff Macklem is wearing an Edmonton Oilers pin as he reflects on coming very close to beating big odds. It's a significant day for the governor of the Bank of Canada. He's just laid out his reasons to the entire country and a global audience for keeping the central bank's benchmark interest rate steady for a second straight time. That night is also Game 1 of the NHL's Stanley Cup finals. Macklem ends his press conference with a hearty 'Go Oilers!' It's a rematch from last year's heartbreak, when the Oilers came oh-so-close to mounting a seemingly impossible four-game comeback against the Florida Panthers, only to fall short by a single goal in Game 7. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Macklem, too, was almost safe to declare victory last year. He had just about secured a coveted 'soft landing' for Canada's economy — a rare feat that sees restrictive monetary policy bring down surging levels of inflation without tipping the economy into a prolonged downturn. 'We got inflation down. We didn't cause a recession,' Macklem said in an interview with The Canadian Press after the rate announcement Wednesday. 'And, to be frank, until President (Donald) Trump started threatening the economy with new tariffs, we were actually seeing growth pick up.' Fresh out of one crisis, the central bank now must contend with another in U.S. tariffs. Five years into his tenure as head of the Bank of Canada, Macklem said he sees the central bank's role in stickhandling the economy — as well as Canada's role on the world stage — evolving. Many Canadians have become more familiar with the Bank of Canada in recent years. After the COVID-19 pandemic recovery ignited inflation, the central bank's rapid tightening cycle and subsequent rate cuts were top-line news for anxious Canadians stressed about rising prices and borrowing costs. That was all in pursuit of meeting the central bank's inflation target of two per cent, part of a mandate from the federal government that's up for review next year. Macklem said the past few years have led the Bank of Canada to scrutinize some of its metrics, like core inflation and how it responds to supply shocks in the economy. But he defends keeping the bank's inflation target, particularly at a time of global upheaval. 'Our flexible inflation targeting framework has just been through the biggest test it's ever had in the 30 years since we announced the inflation target,' he said. 'I'm not going to pretend it's been an easy few years for anybody. But I think the framework has performed well.' Macklem said, however, that he sees room to build out the mandate to address other areas of concern from Canadians, such as housing affordability. Whether it's the high cost of rent or a mortgage, or surging prices for groceries and vehicles, Macklem said the past few years have been eye-opening to Canadians who weren't around the last time inflation hit double digits in the 1980s. 'Unfortunately, a whole new generation of Canadians now know what inflation feels like, and they didn't like it one bit,' he said. Monetary policy itself can't make homes more affordable, he noted — in a nutshell, high interest rates make mortgages more expensive while low rates can push up the price of housing itself because they stoke demand. But Macklem said one of the things he's reflecting on is that inflation can get worse when the economy isn't operating at its potential or when it's facing great disruption. 'There is a role for monetary policy to smooth out some of that adjustment — support the economy while ensuring that inflation is well-controlled.' He didn't offer suggestions on how the mandate might expand to address housing affordability specifically, but said 'the work is ongoing' and will be settled in meetings with the federal government next year. Right now, he's trying to make sure that the economic impacts from Canada's tariff dispute with the United States don't result in prolonged inflation. The Bank of Canada is not alone in debating how monetary policy ought to respond in what Macklem called a more 'shock-prone' world. The G7 Finance Ministers' Summit in Kananaskis, Alta., last month also featured roundtables with the bloc's central bankers. Conversations at the summit were 'candid,' Macklem said, and though the nations issued a joint statement at the close of the event, that doesn't mean they agreed on everything. 'International co-operation, to be honest, has never been easy. It is particularly difficult right now, but that doesn't make it less important. That makes it more important,' he said. 'I do think Canada, as the chair of the G7, has a leadership role to play.' The Bank of Canada is also changing the way it has conversations with Canadians and the kind of data it considers. A day after the June interest rate decision, deputy governor Sharon Kozicki told a Toronto business crowd how the central bank is using data more nimbly, relying heavily on surveys and more granular information to make monetary policy decisions in an uncertain time. These sources offer a faster way to see what's happening on the ground in the economy than traditional statistical models allow. Macklem said the central bank would previously have dismissed most supply shocks as transitory — likely to pass without the need for central bank adjustments, such as rising and falling oil prices. But he said the Bank of Canada needs to be running a more 'nuanced playbook' now to respond to some increasingly common shocks: supply chain disruptions, trade conflicts and extreme weather to name a few. An overheating economy running up against a supply disruption is the kind of inflationary fire Macklem is trying to avoid in this latest crisis. 'The economy does not work well when inflation is high,' he said. 'And the primary role of the Bank of Canada is to ensure that Canadians maintain confidence in price stability. That's all we can do for the Canadian economy. That's what we can do for Canadians. And that's what we're focused on.' Later in the day on Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers took Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. The Canadian team was down but roared back to win 4-3 in overtime. It's still early in the Bank of Canada's response to the latest global shock. But with any luck, Macklem's team might also get a leg up with lessons learned the last time they faced big odds. 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