The federal government is giving nearly $2 million to the Just For Laughs Festival in Montréal, even as the iconic comedy event remains under bankruptcy protection and owes creditors more than $23 million.Blacklock's Reporter says Industry Minister Mélanie Joly made the announcement celebrating the subsidy for her hometown event while sidestepping questions about its financial troubles. “I invite Montréalers and tourists from home and abroad to take advantage of a rich program that illustrates our diversity and cultural vitality,” said Joly. Her office did not comment on the decision to fund a bankrupt operation..The $1,859,000 grant is intended to support marketing and promotion for the festival, according to Joly’s department. The festival has already received $15.3 million in federal subsidies since 2020, yet organizers told Québec Superior Court earlier this year that they could no longer pay their bills. Creditors are owed $23.7 million, including $1.9 million to the federal Business Development Bank.Despite the financial turmoil, Joly’s office praised the festival as a major economic driver for Montréal and a symbol of Canada’s cultural identity. “The Just For Laughs Festival is one of our metropolis’ flagship events,” the department said.Neither Canadian Heritage nor Joly’s office would explain what safeguards, if any, are in place to protect taxpayer money in the event of a default. .Court filings by Just For Laughs’ lawyers painted a bleak financial picture, citing rising labour costs, high inflation, weakened consumer demand, and a long-term decline in corporate sponsorships.“Despite the popularity of the Montréal festival and a high attendance rate, festivals require several key sponsors to break even or achieve profitability,” producers wrote in their filing. “Unfortunately since 2018 the Montréal festival has not been able to secure sponsorship revenues at a level equivalent to the pre-2018 period. The resulting impact has been devastating.”Last summer, following the festival’s collapse, cabinet awarded $600,000 to the ComediHa! festival, a competing comedy event in Montréal. At the time, the tourism department said the emergency funding aimed to “fill the important niche occupied by the Just For Laughs festival in Montréal’s 2024 summer programming.”
