(Montreal) A Quebec tradition is currently going through a dark period. A quarter of the 200 sugar shacks in Quebec that serve traditional meals are no longer in business and another quarter of these establishments have changed their facilities forever to only produce syrup, reveals a new study.
Posted on December 12, 2020 at 8:19 a.m.
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The sugar shacks had to close “at the worst time” last season, on the eve of the start of their season, when the fridges were full of cane marinades, sugar tarts and a host of other traditional dishes cooked. in quantity.
“To close a sugaring season is to lose an entire year of income,” explains Stéphanie Laurin, author of the study and owner of Chalet des érables, a sugar bush in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, in the Laurentians. .
And to darken the picture a little more, among the hundred sugar bushes still active in the restoration, 16 would be for sale to produce only syrup and 37 plan to go out of business by April if nothing changes, also indicates The report.
The conclusion of the study is to make the maple trees shudder: “Without the 2021 sugar seasons and without direct aid, 75% of the sugar shacks serving the traditional meal will have disappeared leaving 53 survivors”, it is indicated.
PHOTO OLIVIER PONTBRIAND, ARCHIVES THE PRESS
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It’s like “saying that we make wine in Italy, but that we can no longer go to vineyards to taste it”, said Mr.me Laurin in interview with The Canadian Press. According to her, it would be very sad for Quebec “to have this loss of conscience”.
Mme Laurin, who is also the head of the Association of Reception Halls and Maple Growers of Quebec (ASEQC), believes that governments should inject liquidity into these companies and would like to have a clear picture of what happens next.
Stéphanie Laurin’s study was sent to the Ministry of Tourism in the last few days by the Association of Agrotourism and Gourmet Tourism of Quebec.
Asked about the follow-up that the Minister of Tourism, Caroline Proulx, intends to give, her spokesperson Sandra O’Connor indicated that the cabinet “had the opportunity to discuss with the organization” and that it is to evaluate “what is found in the survey”.
Time is running out. In fact, “it was past midnight minus one,” sums up Josée Lafrance, who manages two large maple groves in Montérégie: La Grillade, in Saint-Alphonse-de-Granby, and La Goudrelle, in Mont-Saint-Grégoire.
It is that a sugar season is usually planned as early as October with the preparation of homemade fruit ketchup, beets and pickles.
“All this preparation is done when the vegetables are at their peak, at their full potential,” says M.me France. At home, we peel it by hand and usually chop no less than 2,700 kilograms of beets. And then, it marinates and macerates to have a production that is ready for opening when the maples start to sink.
The future looks so bleak this year that beets can rest easy. Not a single woman saw the shadow of a knife. M’s companyme Lafrance has already recorded a million dollars in losses, or 96% of its turnover.
Its location is a reflection of its sector. Sugar shacks have lost more than 90% of their income, according to a survey conducted with the ASEQC.
The owners of sugar shacks still have not digested the response of the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon, to a call for help launched last spring by the wife of an owner.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, THE PRESS
The Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon
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“I suggest that if your issue is related to your mortgage to consider protecting yourself from your creditors,” the minister wrote, among others, in an email exchange which The Canadian Press obtained a copy.
“As a good Quebecer, that means: ‘Go bankrupt. Thank you. Have a good day. “, Rebels at the end of the line Frédéric Paiement, who owns the sugar bush L’AKabane, in Saint-Esprit, in Lanaudière.
The minister’s response shows a flagrant lack of compassion, he said. “You, you are next to the boat, you are drowning, he illustrates. With impunity, instead of sending you a buoy, he sends you a brick. ”
Mr. Paiement ultimately did not follow the Minister’s advice. He converted part of his business to an online store and used a truck to do street food. These changes allow it to generate some income and to employ employees. “We are on the ventilator,” he sums up.
Maple grove owners say they have been “insulted and hurt” by the minister’s response to this “cry from the heart” which is “not just for a cabin, but for an entire industry”.
The precarious situation of the sugar shacks is of great concern in Montérégie, where several of them are concentrated.
“It is a market which is extremely lucrative and important for the region […], which generates a lot of tourist activity, ”emphasizes Mario Leblanc, General Manager of Tourisme Montérégie.
He wants public health to announce that it will allow the activities of these establishments for the end of February, the beginning of March.
– Text from the Local Journalism Initiative
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