Quebec's Superior Court has ruled the provincial government violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms when it cancelled a Christian conference at the Quebec City Convention Centre because of the organizers' pro-life beliefs.The decision found former Quebec tourism minister Caroline Proulx acted without legal authority when she directed the publicly owned convention centre to cancel Harvest Ministries International's "Faith, Freedom, Fire" conference in 2023 after describing the organization as anti-abortion.According to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), which funded the legal challenge, the court concluded the minister infringed the organization's freedoms of expression, religion and association guaranteed under the Charter.The conference had been scheduled to run from June 23 to July 2, 2023.Although no presentations on abortion were included in the conference program, Proulx ordered the convention centre to terminate the rental agreement after learning of the organization's opposition to abortion.The following day, Proulx publicly stated that organizations holding such views would no longer be permitted to rent facilities under her authority.Then-premier François Legault backed the decision, saying Quebec would not allow "anti-abortion groups to put on big shows in public spaces."The Superior Court rejected the government's position, finding there was no law, regulation or government directive authorizing the minister to prevent the event from proceeding.The court concluded Proulx had effectively created her own rule denying access to a public facility based solely on disagreement with Harvest Ministries International's beliefs and that the decision could not be justified in a free and democratic society..The judge also found the cancellation prevented the organization from holding a large public gathering and communicating its message in a public forum, striking at the core of freedom of expression.The court awarded Harvest Ministries International compensatory damages arising from the cancellation and ordered Proulx personally to pay $30,000 in punitive damages after finding she intentionally violated the organization's freedom of expression.Lawyers for the JCCF argued government officials cannot deny access to public facilities because they disagree with an organization's lawful beliefs. They relied in part on the Supreme Court of Canada's landmark Roncarelli v. Duplessis decision, which established limits on arbitrary government power.Constitutional lawyer Olivier Séguin welcomed the ruling, calling it an important affirmation of Charter protections."This judgment confirmed that governments cannot use public facilities to punish organizations because officials disagree with their beliefs," Séguin said. "The court rightly found that the Minister acted without legal authority and violated fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Charter."Séguin said the case has implications beyond Quebec."Had this case not been challenged, governments across Canada would have been encouraged to deny access to public facilities whenever they disagreed with an organization's beliefs," he said. "Today's judgment reaffirmed that public officials are bound by the Charter and cannot use state power to silence lawful viewpoints."
