Handle with care: Moving centuries-old Hudson's Bay charter a delicate operation

TORONTO - In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the royal charter that created Canada's oldest company was loaded onto a private plane in Toronto.

Protected by a durable case that was not too hot, not too cold and sheltered from bright light, the 350-year-old document that birthed the Hudson's Bay Co. made its way to Winnipeg aboard the aircraft. It was accompanied by a member of the retailer's staff and a conservator specializing in paper documents — and its own armed security team, who never took their eyes off the artifact.