Controversial Christian group sues Quebec for $200K for cancelling rally at convention centre
An evangelical group is suing the Quebec government for more than $200,000 in damages and material and moral losses, saying its liberty and fundamental rights of freedoms of expression and religion were breached.
The lawsuit, which will be filed in Quebec Superior Court on Wednesday, comes two months after the province terminated the contract to host the event — the sixth “Faith Fire Freedom” rally —at the Quebec City convention centre, which is a government corporation.
Scheduled for June 23, the Harvest Ministries International (HMI) event was expecting around 1,200 people per day and featured large-scale prayer meetings, musical performances and presentations.
In June, Quebec Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx ordered the CEO of the convention centre corporation, the Société du Centre des congrès de Québec, to cancel the lease, saying that events which run counter to the government’s “fundamental principles” can’t be held at government-run venues.
The lawsuit claims this case is one of “pure arbitrariness, based on the intimate convictions of people who have been temporarily entrusted with the levers of power.”
Calling the conduct of Proulx and the corporation “abusive,” the lawsuit goes on to say it “testifies to their malice and bad faith, and their intention to harm Harvest.”
The organization is seeking $137,647 to cover its financial losses, $25,000 in moral damages and another $50,000 in punitive damages.
Olivier Séguin, the lawyer representing HMI, says under the Quebec Charter, it’s prohibited for anyone to discriminate based on certain criteria.
“We should be free to have political opinions,” said Séguin, adding that HMI “stayed modest” and only sought $212,000 instead of the total cost of the cancellation which amounted to $373,822, according to the lawsuit.
Pro-life movement embroiled in controversy
Although the lawsuit claims the rally was not an “anti-abortion” event and there were no items on the program relating to the theme, the organization based in Kelowna B.C. has made headlines for its controversial views.
HMI’s prayer-and-revival movement seeks to have conservative Christians take over the Canadian political system and has described abortion as “murder.”
In the past couple of years, the HMI church has been fined thousands of dollars for disregarding public health orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its leader, Art Lucier, has also repeatedly condemned the decriminalization of homosexuality and abortion in Canada.
Unable to find alternative venue
In the lawsuit, the group claims HMI scrambled to find another space for its event but was forced to cancel after it was turned down by all 43 of the establishments it contacted.
HMI says venues were either unavailable or concerned about hosting a controversial event.
The tourism minister refused to comment because the case is now before the courts.
In June all three opposition parties initially backed the government’s call, but within a week, the Parti Québécois and Québec Solidaire had reconsidered their position.
