There were five owners on Tuesday at a press conference in Montreal to get their message across. They were emotional. They were also determined. They don’t want to let 10, 15 sometimes 20 or 25 years of work go away because of a few months of forced shutdown.
Because their season was barely going to start when Quebec stopped everything on March 13. “Everything was ready to receive thousands of people on our site. We had made our marinades, our farts, our meatball stews, our mini-pies. We have also renovated the maple grove year after year, ”said Mélanie Charbonneau, co-owner of Érablière Charbonneau, in Montérégie.
It is with despair today that we are asking the government for help.
Tears in her eyes and tremolos in her voice, she spoke about the fact that her company tried to start a snack bar to survive, but it’s not really profitable
. Our life has changed
, she added.
While most sectors have been able to resume their activities, for sugar bushes, the season is over. The same goes for the reception rooms.people who are allowed, a lot of people don’t want to go into a marriage. We have a lot of cancellations or postponements until next year “,” text “:” Our season has been destroyed. Even with gatherings of 250 people that are allowed, a lot of people don’t want to go to a wedding. We have a lot of cancellations or postponements until next year “}}” lang = “fr”>Our season has been destroyed. Even with gatherings of 250 people that are allowed, a lot of people don’t want to go to a wedding. We have a lot of cancellations or postponements to next year, said Pascal Garippo, co-owner of the reception hall Le Châteaubriand, in Montreal, in English.
We are in survival mode. We need help now, not next year. We don’t know what the future holds. Without income, our fixed costs like rent or Hydro suffocate us.
The fruit of all the efforts made over the last 20 years should not be razed in one year, because it’s not our fault what happens
, pleaded the entrepreneur.
At the Érablière du Cap, in Lévis, we have a reception hall in addition to the production of maple syrup.ans “,” text “:” We are in front of a blank calendar. It is expected that the situation will return to near normal within 3 to 5 years “}}” lang = “fr”>We are in front of a blank calendar. The situation is expected to return to near normal within 3 to 5 years, explained co-owner Christine Tardif, who runs the family business with her parents and two sisters.
The company has diversified a lot in recent years in order, she said, to keep it alive 12 months a year
. And everything fell apart last March.
000people in two months, we had 150 people during the weekend of March 14 and 15. We had a lot of inventories to sell, our freezers and refrigerators were full to the brim “,” text “:” We were ready to have more than 20,000 people in two months, we had 150 people during the weekend of the 14th. and March 15. We had a lot of inventories to sell, our freezers and refrigerators were full to the brim “}}” lang = “fr”>We were ready to have more than 20,000 people in two months, we had 150 people during the weekend of March 14 and 15. We had a lot of inventories to sell, our freezers and refrigerators were full to the brim
, she illustrated.
They turned around, offered lunch boxes online, and for two months it was a success. Since mid-May, however, nothing more, revenues have disappeared.
It takes short-term help from us. Otherwise, it is not clear where the family business will go.
Heavily affected sector
In the context of the pandemic, it is easy to understand how sugar bushes and reception halls are struggling to survive.
The simple fact of not being able to dance, for example, greatly reduces the experience of a visit to the sugar shack, or even more, of a wedding.
About 30% of reception halls and restaurants are seriously considering bankruptcy, according to the results of a study by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
“Government loan programs have been useful, but they have reached their limits for these SMEs that are barely making sales,” says CFIB.
“The sugar shacks and reception halls are calling for an emergency aid program to help them overcome this unprecedented crisis. “
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