After a sour online response, the National Capital Commission has apologized for shutting down a children’s lemonade stand over the weekend.
Seven-year-old Eliza Andrews and her five-year-old sister Adela had a morning of sweet sales on Sunday when they set up near their house along Colonel By Drive Sunday morning.
The stretch of road is closed to motorists on Sundays and opened to pedestrians and cyclists.
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After about two hours of sales they were promptly shut down by an NCC officer because they didn’t have a permit.
“We understood that it was NCC property,” said father Kurtis Andrews, who built the lemonade stand to teach his daughters some real world business skills. “But we figured a kids’ lemonade stand wouldn’t raise a bunch of fuss, and no one would probably make a big deal about it.”
On Monday morning the girls and their dad were invited to NCC headquarters to talk about bringing the lemonade stand back – with the proper documentation.
“They gave us the royal treatment,” said Mr. Andrews. “We put in an application for a permit, and it sounds like they’ll be expediting whatever process is required so we can set up next Sunday for the next bike day.”
He said they haven’t talked yet about whether or not the permit fee would be waived.
The NCC released a statement Monday morning, apologizing to the family and saying that it reviewed the situation with the junior conservation officer on duty.
The statement said that the officer “acted in good faith” but notes that the NCC wants to move forward animating the shoreline and supporting “young entrepreneurs going forward.”
“We believe the situation could have been handled differently,” read the statement. “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.”
This article originally appeared on metronews.ca on July 4.
