Gilbert Rozon to pay more than $880,000 to eight of the nine plaintiffs

Quebec Superior Court Justice orders Gilbert Rozon to pay $880,000 to eight of the nine complainants for sexual assaults committed against them.

After 10 months, the civil trial pitting the Quebec impresario against nine plaintiffs has come to an end.

“This judgment therefore aims to bring this long trial to a close and to reaffirm that an infringement of personal integrity, when proven, calls for a legal response proportionate to the extent of the harm suffered,” Tremblay said in her decision.

The 71-year-old Rozon was seeking nearly $14 million in damages over allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. These alleged incidents occurred between 1980 and 2004. 

“While nothing can erase the harm they suffered, the recognition of the facts allows them to find a measure of comfort,” according to a statement from the plaintiffs.

“It brings to the surface a moment in my life that I did not choose. My rape and sexual assault by Gilbert Rozon,” said Martine Roy, one of the nine plaintiffs. “I’ve silently carried this like many others for years. This victory doesn’t erase my past, but validating the truth allows me to reclaim the power I lost.”

I’ve been waiting 40 years for recognize to myself the injustice and damage it caused to my perception of myself and my life and my perception of the relation with men,” added Annick Charette, another plaintiff.

In 2020, Rozon was found not guilty of rape and indecent assault by a Quebec court judge concerning an incident alleged to have happened in 1980 to Annick Charette.

Rozon had claimed he had consensual relations with three of the nine women, and had denied the other allegations against him, saying his accusers had formed a coalition against him with the aim of getting rich. He countersued four of the women for defamation, demanding $275,000 each in damages.

He has denied the allegations, saying the women formed a coalition against him with the aim of financial gain.

Rozon stepped down from Just for Laughs in 2017 and later sold the company.

“This judgment attests to the strength and resilience of these women,” according to a statement from the plaintiffs. “By speaking out, they can now reclaim the voice that was taken from them,” according to a statement from the plaintiffs.

Nine women — Patricia Tulasne, Lyne Charlebois, Anne-Marie Charrette, Annick Charrette, Sophie Moreau, Danie Frenette, Guylaine Courcelles, Mary Sicari and Martine Roy — have filed lawsuits against him.

“There’s something anomalous about the way the damages are awarded in Quebec case law and case law generally in Canada, where if you’re a victim of defamation, you can get a million dollars of damages because someone said something not nice about you. If you’re a rape victim and your whole life is derailed, you get 10 times less,” said Bruce W. Johnston, a lawyer for the nine women.

“Since the beginning we’ve been telling our truth, the truth,” Tulasne told reporters following the final day of hearings.

“When we hear the other side contradict us, it hurts, but I’m happy that I spoke. I’m liberated and I did what I had to do. The rest is not up to me.”

Changes adopted days before the trial began in December 2024 prohibit lawyers from asking questions suggesting an alleged victim’s sexual past or their decision to remain in contact with an alleged abuser undermines their credibility.

The amendments to the Quebec Civil Code establish a “presumption of irrelevance” for evidence based on myths and stereotypes recognized in criminal law.

Rozon’s lawyers challenged the new restrictions, but the plaintiffs later told the court they would not seek to invoke the provision.

With this latest civil court ruling, the legal team for the nine women suggests this case should return to criminal court.

“Beyond the legal conclusion, this moment will remain as the moment when the woman choose to speak out collectively,” Roy said.

—With files from The Canadian Press