Forced to cancel all the activities of the first cannabis fair in Quebec City, the CanEmpire team put the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) on notice for an amount of $500,000.
• Read also: The first cannabis fair defeated by the Ministry of Health
• Read also: CanEmpire will go elsewhere than in Quebec
President Awa Diagne is claiming this sum for compensation for the damage suffered.
After first canceling its main event, the organizer accused the MSSS of having signed the death warrant for the comedy and music shows it was still trying to offer.
At that time, Awa Diagne had hinted that the dispute would possibly continue in court.
CanEmpire therefore puts the Ministry of Health on notice for the forced cancellation of its events.
“[…] as of May 5, 2022, your agents began to harass and intimidate the partners of our client [CanEmpire Inc.]”, can we read.
According to them, the actions taken by the officers and inspectors have created damage that is difficult to repair.
“At full capacity, around 2000 people were expected”, specifies the formal notice.
The organization repeats that the event was in no way intended to promote the consumption of cannabis, or anything else that could indicate certain violations of the laws relating to the promotion of cannabis.
CanEmpire also denounces this “witch hunt” of the government, which would have used methods to intimidate its financial partners.
“The censorship that surrounds cannabis is aberrant. The government’s actions are completely unacceptable from start to finish,” President Awa Diagne said last week.
The very first edition of CanFest was to take place on May 28 at the Complexe Capitale Hélicoptère (CCH). The visit of an agent from the MSSS, however, changed everything, since the warnings caused the CCH to terminate the contract binding it to CanFest.
Despite the withdrawal of any reference to cannabis, the Ministry of Health would have again threatened the Center des congrès de Québec, which was to host the shows still scheduled for Saturday.
The Convention Center has therefore chosen to cancel the activity 48 hours from its launch.
