Red-faced officials at the National Capital Commission are apologizing to two little Ottawa girls after an overzealous bylaw officer shut down their lemonade stand for lack of proper paperwork.
Adela Andrews, 5, and her older sister Eliza, 7, had set up a lemonade stand over the weekend along Colonel By Drive, a central Ottawa street that runs along the Rideau Canal and turns into a pedestrian-only street on summer weekends.
The girls were raising money to pay for their summer camp.
But it wasn’t long before an official with the NCC, the federal Crown corporation that manages land in and around the Ottawa area, arrived to tell the girls they needed a permit to do business on NCC land, their father told CBC News.
“We apologize to the Andrews family for the inconvenience. We met with Mr. Andrews, and his daughters, Eliza and Adela, this morning to see how we can support these two young entrepreneurs going forward,” the NCC said in a statement.
Lemonade stand: a copy of our full statement. #ottnews #ottcity #ottawa pic.twitter.com/P7ZgBJ9Nit
— NCC-CCN (@NCC_CCN) July 4, 2016
The junior conservation officer acted in good faith by applying federal land use rules, the statement said, but the officer could have handled the situation differently.
“Children’s lemonade stands are a time-honoured summer tradition that contributes to a lively capital and the NCC wants to encourage these activities whenever possible,” the NCC said.
The girls’ father, Kurtis Andrews, went to the NCC on Monday to apply for the permit.
Adela Andrews (left) and her sister Eliza (right) were told to stop selling lemonade along Colonel By Drive. Photo: Courtesy of Kurtis Andrews
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