By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Ont.

A Canadian court Friday allowed department store chain, Sears Canada, to proceed with liquidation, signifying the official end of the company’s 65-year history.

The company’s remaining 130 stores – 59 were closed earlier this year – will be shuttered after the assets are sold and in the process 12,000 jobs will be lost.

“We recognize that today the order will effectively bring Sears Canada’s 65 years as a national retailer to an end,” Orestes Pasparakis, a lawyer representing the court appointed Sears’ financial monitor firm, told Judge Glenn Hainey, who approved the liquidation. “Many people have worked hard to understand whether there is a viable alternative. It appears there is not.”

The liquidation could begin as soon as Oct. 19 and finish in 10 to 14 weeks. In all, about 16,000 will have lost their jobs.

“This company has touched the lives of generations of Canadians,” commented Susan Ursel, a lawyer representing current and former Sears employees.