A Christian organization is threatening legal action against Quebec’s tourism minister for cancelling their event, saying it was “anti-abortion” and didn’t fit with Québec’s principles.
B.C.-based Harvest Ministries International says the event does not have an “anti-abortion” theme and is an overall religious, cultural, and artistic event.
“Even if the theme of the Rally were ‘anti-abortion’ (we deny it), your decision to ban my client from the Convention Centre—and from all similar provincial Crown properties—would be abusive, discriminatory and an attack on the fundamental freedoms of expression and religion, without a shred of reasonable justification,” said a letter the organization’s lawyers sent to Minister Caroline Proulx on June 5.
Harvest Ministries is threatening legal action if the minister does not reinstate by June 8 the contract she told the Quebec City Convention Centre (Centre des Congrès de Québec) to cancel. Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) is providing the organization’s legal representation.
Proulx and the Quebec City Convention Centre did not reply to Epoch Times inquiries as of publication.
“Our government is resolutely pro-choice. And it is a subject that has a broad consensus in Quebec,” Proulx told Radio Canada in French.
“Freedom of expression is the rule. In this case, as a Crown corporation, we think it is our role to adhere to certain values that the government promotes,” Pierre-Michel Bouchard, CEO of the convention centre, told Radio Canada.
He said contracts have been canceled at the centre in two other instances. In one case, the client refused to translate documents into French. In the other, the event was related to cannabis, which caused discomfort.
JCCF said in a June 7 release that Proulx instructed Bouchard on or about June 2 to cancel the rental arranged by Harvest Ministries in February for its event. The event was scheduled for June 23 to July 2.
It is marketed under the banner “Battle for Canada” and titled “Prepare the Way.” JCCF said no anti-abortion speeches, performances, screenings or themes were planned for it. The Harvest Ministries website does have a link to another website titled Canadian Firewall 3.0 that mentions abortion under its “prayer targets.”
It says that since there are no restrictions on abortions in Canadian law, “the mother’s womb [is] the most unsafe place for a child in Canada. We need to pray for the sanctity of life.”
Pastor Art Lucier, leader of Harvest Ministries, said in the JCCF release that the government’s actions violate freedom of expression and belief.
“Everyone has the right to express their convictions and deeply held values, even if they are in the minority or unpopular. In Québec, as in the rest of Canada, state arbitrariness, censorship and discrimination have no place,” he said.
Lucier estimates the financial losses from cancelling the event at about $450,000.
“If the Québec government does not reverse its decision, we will quickly go to court and seek not only damages, but also punitive damages and constitutional redress,” he said.