Illumi show in Laval: too broken to pick up, Cavalia has “illegally” occupied the field for three months

The City of Laval is taking Cavalia to court in order to force the company to leave the land of the former Illumi course that it has “illegally occupied” for three months and to pick up its numerous equipment and waste which still litter the site.

Illumi, a nighttime course with a huge quantity of LED bulbs, was installed in 2019 at the corner of Highway 15 and Boulevard Saint-Martin on land belonging to the City of Laval, under an agreement with this one.

After welcoming two million visitors, the creator of the event, Cavalia, was refused an extension of the agreement in 2023 by the City, which is preparing to build a new district, among other things, on this land.

Request for injunction

The Laval edition of Illumi ended on January 7, while the occupation agreement ended on January 1.^is september.

However, almost three months later, many equipment from the Illumi course are still on the site which seems to be abandoned, noted The Journal.

The City of Laval filed a request for an injunction on September 27 in which it demands the “expulsion” of Cavalia from the site which it still occupies “illegally” and “totally”, according to it. This site measures 93,127 m²the equivalent of nearly 17 football fields.

“An inspection of the event site by the City revealed that Cavalia still stores a significant quantity of equipment, machinery, waste and scrap,” we can read in the motion presented to the Superior Court of Quebec that The Journal consulted.

What follows is a long list of what the City has identified on the site, such as figurines, light arches, capitals and sanitary facilities.

What’s more, she is claiming from Cavalia an amount of $7,671 per day since 1^is September, since it is prohibited for a municipality to let a company occupy its land for free. The bill would thus rise to more than $680,000 as of November 28.

The site of a future neighborhood

By email, the City of Laval emphasizes the importance of Cavalia leaving this land since it launched preparatory work last September for the Carré Laval project, a future eco-district which should ultimately include 3,500 housing units and an urban park. of 22 hectares.

“It is therefore critical to ensure compliance with the parameters provided for in the agreement between the developer and the City to allow studies and preparatory work to be carried out as well as the construction of the first buildings. To do this, the illegally occupied site must have been vacated and rehabilitated quickly,” insisted its spokesperson Philippe Déry.

Cavalia says it lacks funds to dismantle the site

Cavalia says it is struggling with financial problems, to the point where it does not have enough money to dismantle Illumi’s facilities in Laval.

“The mayor broke his promises, which put Illumi in an impossible situation. We cannot return an event of this magnitude and this size on a dime,” criticizes Dimitri Soudas. The political analyst at - is also senior vice-president of the Cavalia Group.

In interview with The Journal, he explains that the company was not able to dismantle its installations in time for the 1^is September on the site along Highway 15, because it lacks the money to do so.

The operation would cost “several million dollars,” according to him.

“Despite everything, we have already dismantled more than 50% of the site. Dismantling operations are continuing, slowly but surely,” says Mr. Soudas.

The senior vice-president affirms that the mayor of Laval, Stéphane Boyer, “promised” during a meeting in May 2022 with Normand Latourelle, founder of Cavalia, to find alternative land in Laval to relocate Illumi’s facilities. .

Projects elsewhere in the world

Failure to respect this promise would have “taken by surprise” Cavalia, which did not expect, according to Mr. Soudas, to have to close Illumi Laval in 2024.

“It was not possible to identify a satisfactory solution for both parties,” responded Philippe Déry, spokesperson for the City of Laval. As of July 2023, the City confirmed to Cavalia that it would not be possible to hold the activities on an alternative site. […]»

The financial problems criticized by Cavalia may come as a surprise, given that Illumi shows are currently offered in Mississauga, Singapore and soon in Los Angeles.

“Each event is unique. You can’t undress Pierre to pay Paul,” retorts Mr. Soudas.

As for the legal proceedings, Cavalia has decided to contest the City’s request for an injunction and is currently working on its response.

The company is also preparing its own appeal against Laval.

“We have mandated our attorneys to make a claim against the City for all the damage it has caused us, which amounts to millions of dollars,” maintains Dimitri Soudas.

This legal saga therefore seems far from over.

Examples of what is still found on the Illumi site and which must be dismantled, according to the City of Laval

• Capitals and buildings;
• Trailers, vehicles and trailers;
• Decorations, figurines and scale models;
• Arches of light;
• Building materials;
• A pond and a filtration system;
• Piping and underground infrastructure;
• Sanitary facilities or a septic tank.

Source: request for injunction against Cavalia filed by the City of Laval