When two Montreal-area boys set up a lemonade stand to raise money for multiple sclerosis (MS) research — a disease their mother was diagnosed with two years ago — they never expected the police to get involved.
But that’s exactly what happened Saturday afternoon, according to mother Ayana Massa.
Ness and Ariel Partusch-Massa, ages 8 and 11, used a megaphone to advertise their product with calls of “lemonade, lemonade, lemonade for $1 for multiple sclerosis!” filling the air on their street in Roxboro, West Island.
But while some neighbors responded by stopping by and buying a cup, one man wasn’t happy.
Massa said an unknown man appeared on her lawn around 10:45 a.m. swearing at her children and promising to “lock them up.”
“Lo and behold, 15 minutes later the first police car came,” Massa told CTV News.
Two officers told her they had received an “annoying call” and asked the boys to stop, she claimed.
When Massa refused to close the stall, offering to pay a fine instead, officers reportedly threatened to arrest her.
“And he says, ‘Do you think you’re above the law because you’re in a wheelchair?'” Massa recounted.
“He said, ‘I admire what you’re doing here, but you’re basically selling lemonade on the street.’ I said, ‘I’m not on the street, I’m on my property.’
Massa said the tension subsided after the police chief was called to the scene.
But soon after she left, two more police cars pulled up, she explained.
Nessa, 11, and Ariel, 8, will donate the money they raised at their lemonade stand to MS research. (CTV News)
Police reportedly remained in her yard for hours, during which time she prevented people from buying lemonade from her sons.
No arrests were made and no tickets were issued. The officers eventually left, but the damage was already done, Massa said.
The experience was harrowing for her boys, she explained, one of whom has autism.
“I feel bullied. I feel it was an incredible injustice,” she said. “People with MS don’t deserve it. The boys don’t deserve it. The community doesn’t deserve it.”
“I was very sad,” said 8-year-old Ariel.
11-year-old Nessa was afraid that his mother would go to prison.
“I would make more lemonade and make more money so I could save her,” he said.
The Montreal Police Department (SPVM) has not yet responded to CTV News’ request for comment.
THE LOCAL COMMUNITY IS OUTRAGED
News of the police intervention quickly spread throughout the West Island community, with some members taking to social media to air their grievances.
“Shame on the person who contacted the police to complain about the lemonade stand,” read one post on the West Island Community Facebook page. “It broke my heart for their mother to cry in front of me and her children.”
“The fact that the police actually got involved… Really pisses me off,” read one comment.
Ayana Massa’s 11-year-old son, Nessa, said he would use the funds from his lemonade stand to “bail” her out of jail. (CTV News)
Dimitrios Jim Bais, the mayor of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, was at Massa’s home Sunday to offer his support.
He said he plans to speak with Montreal police authorities (SPVM) on Monday to try to learn more about the situation.
“Was such an intervention necessary in the circumstances?” he said.
“My goal is again to contact the commander and find out exactly what happened.
He plans to work with Massa and her boys to determine how they can continue to operate their lemonade stand without running into problems like noise complaints and permit issues.
For Masa’s part, she wants SPVM to apologize to her boys and make a donation to MS research.
“I think this is not a time to fight each other. I think it’s time to lift each other up,” she said.
SQUEEKING LEMONS FOR TREATMENT
Massa said the lemonade stand fundraiser for MS research was an idea her boys came up with.
“He said, ‘Mom, I want it to be.’ [for] MS so you can get a cure and everyone else can get a cure. So it was heartwarming,” she recalls.
The disease, which affects the central nervous system, has no cure.
In the two years since his diagnosis, Massa began using a wheelchair.
“Right now, our biggest hope is just to be able to find a cure, and I think that’s what the guys are doing,” she said. “It’s just a beautiful lesson in generosity, humility and selflessness. It gives me hope. It’s true.”
Western Islander Edward Murin brought Ariel and Nessa flowers and a monetary donation when he learned of their efforts to fight MS. (CTV News)
So far, the boys have raised over $2,000, which they plan to send to the MS Society of Canada and the Montreal Neurological Institute.
They won $1,050 on Saturday alone.
“I’m very grateful to the community,” Massa said. “The amount of love these kids got.”
With files from CTV’s Luca Caruso-Moro.
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