Quebec Court Rules Smoking on Stage is Artistic Expression

0:00Quebec's Court of Appeal just ruled that banning actors from smoking on stage during plays is unconstitutional. They upheld a lower court decision that tossed out $500 fines against three Quebec City theaters for letting performers light up between 2017 and 2019. The court said smoking in a show counts as artistic expression, and blocking it hurts plays getting made, or key scenes getting cut. A damage to free speech beats any small health gains from the ban, since smoke exposure in a theater stays pretty limited. Theaters, like Le Tayotre du Trident, Le Tayotre de la Borde, and Premier Act des, fought back after getting hit with those fines. Directors argue fake smokes are props, just don't capture the real emotion, like a character chain, smoking through a cancer crisis. In a unanimous call, the appeals court narrowed the exemption to only cover actors and cultural shows, and made the ruling hit right away no delays. Lawyers for the theaters called it a clean win on free expression over government health

1:03rules. Now the province has 60 days to ask Canada's Supreme Court for a shot at overturning it, but no word yet if they'll push forward. This keeps stages open for raw, real performances without the smoke police crashing the show. For the news today, powered by AI bringing you what matters.