The Just for Laughs Group (JPR) announces that its Toronto comedy festival will not take place as planned this year.
It’s a change of direction for the company, which announced Tuesday that its Montreal event was canceled for the summer of 2024, but that its Toronto event, Just For Laughs, would continue as planned.
JPR sought protection from its creditors this week and laid off 75 employees, or around 70% of its workforce.
The company hopes festivals will resume in 2025, once the restructuring of its operations is complete. The festival in Montreal usually takes place in July, while the one in Toronto was scheduled for September.
Just for Laughs blamed its financial woes on a number of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and changes in the entertainment industry,
However, court records show a bailiff seized more than $800,000 in company assets last week after failing to make a court-ordered payment to a former employee.
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