So the long and the short of it is, our CA has *LOST* the documents showing who we are, and wants new ones.

Wow! Have you contacted http://www.geotrust.com about this? I'm sure they would fly people out to Calgary to personally inspect your identity at no charge just for a chance to use your story in the marketing. Check what they're saying about Verisign on their website. The bumbling fools at Verisign are not the only choice for SSL certs. The security ecology demands diversity and competition so that there are always plenty of watchers watching the watchers. --Michael Dillon