When the provincial government announced the implementation of a curfew in early January, the spring sugaring season still seemed a long way off. As the days get longer and the curfew remains in place, however, some have begun to wonder what having to be home by 8 p.m. means when they typically spend their days and nights at the sugar shack.
Last week Bonnie Gowan wrote in to The Record to ask just how the curfew applies or doesn’t in this case.
“I sugar often late into the night to boil down the sap and I live about 10 miles from the camp,” Gowan wrote. “Will I still be able to do this?”
The short answer, according to Hélène Normandin of the Québec Maple Syrup Producers, is yes,
Maple syrup producers, Normandin pointed out, are considered essential service workers and are therefore allowed to continue working despite the curfew.
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What does curfew mean for sugaring?
By Gordon Lambie