Exhausted, short of resources and fearing every day of having to permanently close their doors, the owners of sugar shacks and reception halls in Quebec are calling for urgent help from governments.
“Or they hear us and agree to help us. Or else, a majority of companies in our sector will unfortunately not be able to finish the year, ”laments Stéphanie Laurin, general manager of Chalet des Érables, one of the largest sugar shacks in the province.
Founded by his grandfather in 1948, the company in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, in the Lower Laurentians, fights like others for its survival.
“Normally 300 people work here. Two hundred weddings are celebrated each summer. And that’s without counting the baptisms, banquets, corporate evenings which complete the sugaring season. “
But, confinement requires, all the actors of this industry of reception rooms have lived the hecatomb.
“On March 13, everything stopped,” says Mme Laurin. It became dead overnight. And since then, helplessly, all we can do is respond to requests for cancellation or postponement of events. “
This is because, even deconfined, the sugar shacks and reception rooms have not at all returned to their normal activities.
Although it is now allowed to gather up to 250 people, many patrons who cannot dance or drink alcohol after midnight are canceling their celebrations.
Government loan programs have been helpful, but have reached their limits for those SMEs that are barely making any sales.
“In our case, the $ 40,000 loan we would be entitled to doesn’t even cover the fixed costs for one month. “
Unlike the owners of restaurants and bars, consulted many times by the authorities in recent months, the owners of cabins and reception halls have felt they have been forgotten in recent weeks.
Recently, the latter founded the Association of Reception Halls and Maple Growers of Quebec and held a press conference yesterday in Montreal to express their need for help.
“Whether this aid comes from the provincial or federal, from the Ministry of the Economy, Agriculture or Tourism, [ça] doesn’t matter, says Mme Laurin, on behalf of the industry. We have been closed for six months. We are out of breath, often unable to make ends meet. Time, we don’t have any more. All we want is a little help to be able to survive until we resume our activities. ”
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) supports them in their efforts and asks for help.
“Their testimonies touch us in the depths of our hearts,” says its Quebec vice-president, François Vincent.
“They have spent years building and growing their business. Today, they are at their wit’s end. The bills are piling up […]. At this rate, many sugar shacks and reception halls will fall. Let’s not wait until it’s too late. “
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