by Jonathon Van Maren, The Bridgehead
Three years after illegally cancelling a Christian group’s event for its pro-life views, Quebec’s former tourism minister Caroline Proulx has been ordered to personally pay Harvest Ministries International $30,000 by a Quebec judge for violating their right to freedom of speech.
As LSN reported at the time, Harvest Ministries International had a contract to host their Faith, Fire, Freedom Rally at the Quebec City Convention Centre from June 23 to July 2, 2023. Their contract was abruptly cancelled at the behest of Proulx, who ordered its nullification on June 1 on the basis that the event was “against the fundamental principles of Quebec.” The event was to cap off a series of cross-province events and was expected to draw 1,200 participants per day.
After being asked about the event by a Radio-Canada journalist, Proulx looked up the group; Harvest’s website states that abortion has “made the mother’s womb the mother’s womb the most dangerous place for a child in Canada” and urges people to “pray for the sanctity of life, and for an end to abortion in Canada!”
As CTV reported, Proulx “then instructed her chief of staff to inform Pierre-Michel Bouchard, President and CEO of the Convention Center, in writing of her decision to cancel the lease agreement for the event.” The message stated: “We firmly believe in freedom of expression, but just as strongly in freedom of choice. We have serious reservations about holding this event in a public venue. Nothing prevents them from holding the event elsewhere, in a private venue.”
With only 10 days’ notice, organizers failed to find another venue; the court ruling stated that: “Despite this, nearly 200 people gathered at another venue in Quebec City and still participated in prayer meetings and gatherings on the Plains of Abraham.”