The company that runs the Just for Laughs comedy festival says the Toronto event will not go ahead as planned this year. A news crew shoots a report in front of the Just for Laughs theatre in Montreal on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Legal documents reveal that the organization behind the Just for Laughs comedy festival is in debt to the tune of nearly $22.5 million to various creditors.
Groupe Juste pour rire Inc. made public its quest for creditor protection and the cancellation of this year's Montreal festival on Tuesday. Additionally, it announced the temporary suspension of the Toronto event on Wednesday.
Records submitted to Quebec's Superior Court indicate that Juste pour rire owes $16.6 million to the National Bank of Canada. It also owes approximately $2 million to the Business Development Bank of Canada and over $2.5 million to the Societe de developpement des entreprises culturelles, a Quebec government entity.
A spokesperson for the company declined to discuss its financial predicament.
In response to its financial challenges, Juste pour rire terminated 75 employees, representing roughly 70 percent of its workforce, as part of its restructuring efforts.
The company anticipates resuming the festivals in 2025 once the business restructuring is complete. The Montreal event typically occurs in July, while the Toronto festival was slated for September.
Juste pour rire attributed its financial difficulties to various factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and shifts in the entertainment industry. However, court documents reveal that a bailiff seized over $800,000 in assets from the company last week following its failure to fulfill a court-mandated payment to a former employee.
Interestingly, this former employee is not listed among the debtors identified in court. However, Equipe Spectra, a Montreal festival producer, is owed more than $611,000, and Bell Canada is owed over $237,000. Bell Canada holds a 51 percent stake in Juste pour rire through event promoter Evenko.
Both Evenko and Equipe Spectra are subsidiaries of Groupe CH, a company led by Geoff Molson, who serves on the board of Juste pour rire.
