Hudsons Bay creditor protection extended until July 31 [Video]

An Ontario court has extended Hudson’s Bay’s reprieve from the hundreds of businesses it owes money until the end of July.

Judge Peter Osborne granted Canada’s oldest company permission Tuesday to extend the court’s protection from creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act to July 31 rather than ending May 15.

Hudson’s Bay lawyer Ashley Taylor argued the extension was necessary for the ongoing process of finding buyers for the business and its assets, as well as takers for its leases.

“We are asking for an extension so we can have some breathing room to see what can be done,” he told Osborne.

The extension request came as Hudson’s Bay appears to be hurtling toward a new future.

After filing for creditor protection in March because it was having trouble paying 26 pages’ worth of landlords, vendors and suppliers the almost $1 billion they were collectively owed, the department store …