Documents show more companies, performers owed money by Just for Laughs

MONTREAL – Documents made public by an insolvency trustee show Montreal comedy festival Just for Laughs and affiliated companies owe millions of dollars in unpaid debts beyond what was included in a court filing last week.

Groupe Juste pour rire inc., the parent company of the festival and several other comedy-related businesses, announced earlier this month that it is insolvent and seeking creditor protection.

Documents released this week by insolvency trustee PwC, formerly known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, show an additional $5 million in unpaid debts owed by the festival and other affiliated businesses.

That money is in addition to the $22.5 million owed by one of the companies in the group, disclosed in documents filed at the Montreal courthouse last week.

Included in the $5 million of newly disclosed debts is $3.4 million owed by the comedy festival, whose creditors include hotels, venues and production companies.

As well, Just for Laughs and another affiliated festival, ZooFest, owe more than $78,000 to a Montreal convenience store.

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Among the creditors named in the documents recently made public are:

— More than four dozen television stations, as well as radio stations and newspapers across Canada, which are owed more than $100,000.

— Comedian Mike Ward is owed $301; singer Ginette Reno is owed $2,000.

— Big Yellow Taxi Productions, which has produced Australian Just for Laughs television programs shot in Montreal and Australia, is owed more than $200,000.

— Convenience store Depanneur L’unique is owed $78,355.

— Comedy Gives Back, a non-profit that helps comedians in need, is owed $8,886.

— The biggest creditor named in the new set of documents is Cartier Communication Marketing Inc., a Montreal advertising company, which is owed $720,347.

— Other creditors include Australian comedian Jim Jefferies and Montreal’s ambulance service, Urgences-santé.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2024.