Quebec minister ordered to personally pay $60,000 for cancelling pro-life event

Rebel News ^ | August 4, 2026 | Sheila Gunn Reid

[Twotone]

Former Quebec tourism minister Caroline Proulx has been ordered to personally pay more than $60,000 in damages after a Quebec Superior Court judge ruled she unlawfully cancelled a Christian conference because of its pro-life message.

In a decision released Friday, Justice Alain Trudel found Proulx acted "in an arbitrary and abusive manner" when she ordered Quebec City's convention centre to cancel a rental agreement for Harvest Ministries International's "Faith, Fire, and Freedom" conference just 10 days before it was scheduled to begin.

The British Columbia-based Christian ministry had booked the Quebec City Convention Centre for a 10-day event in June 2023, expecting approximately 1,200 attendees each day as the culmination of its "Battle for Canada" tour.

The controversy erupted after Radio-Canada asked Proulx about the conference. After reviewing the organization's website and discovering its opposition to abortion, Proulx directed her chief of staff to instruct the convention centre to terminate the rental agreement.

In a written message cited by the court, the government stated it had "serious reservations" about allowing the event in a public venue because its views conflicted with Quebec's values, while suggesting organizers could find a private venue instead. Go Ad Free

Despite efforts to relocate the conference, organizers were unable to secure another venue on such short notice. About 200 supporters ultimately gathered elsewhere in Quebec City for prayer meetings and public events.

Justice Trudel rejected the government's argument that it could refuse to host speech with which it disagreed.

"Preventing a message that displeases the minister or causes deep unease within the government from being conveyed in the public sphere does not constitute an urgent and genuine objective that justifies a restriction on freedom of expression," he wrote.

The judge concluded Proulx's intervention was motivated by political considerations rather than any lawful authority governing the convention centre's bookings. He found her actions infringed Harvest Ministries' Charter-protected freedom of expression.

The court ordered Proulx to personally pay $30,636.92 in compensatory damages, despite the lawsuit also naming the Quebec government and the Société du Centre des congrès de Québec. Justice Trudel further awarded $30,000 in punitive damages against Proulx personally.

In a statement posted after the ruling, Proulx defended Quebec's commitment to abortion access and said she was reviewing the judgment before deciding whether to appeal. She emphasized the government "will NEVER back down" from defending women's right to abortion but declined further comment because of the possibility of additional legal proceedings.

Proulx announced earlier this year that she will not seek re-election in Quebec's provincial election this October.

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TOPICS: Canada; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: canada; freeexpression; quebec

[butlerweave]

She looks like a snob

[BenLurkin]

[Sicon]

That’s how you do it. That’s how you get politicians and bureaucrats to stop their nonsense. Make them pay, personally, not with taxpayer’s money.

[T.B. Yoits]

The same should be done for politicians and government employees who break the law in the U.S. Don't victimize the taxpayers by forcing them to pay for it.

Start with politicians billing time toward authoring unconstitutional gun laws.

[sevlex]

You dont often see good news come out of Canada.

I guess there is no such thing as “Qualified Immunity” up there.

[bigbob]

Shocking to learn there is free speech

[butlerweave]

The language police in Quebec wouldn’t let people name your child Ivory because it’s a soap ,LOL

[ridesthemiles]

GREAT MOVE!!!!!!!!!!

HIT HER POCKETBOOK

[chickenlips]

She looks like she should have another zero added to that figure.