But that’s exactly what happened Saturday afternoon, according to mother Ayana Massa.
Ness and Ariel Partus-Massa, ages 8 and 11, used a megaphone to advertise their product, chanting “lemonade, lemonade, $1 lemonade for MS!”  filling the air along their way to Roxboro, West Island.
But while some neighbors responded by stopping by and buying a glass, one man wasn’t happy.
Masha said an unknown man appeared on her lawn around 10:45 a.m., swearing at her children and promising to “shut them up.”
“Lo and behold, 15 minutes later, the first patrol car came,” Massa told CTV News.
A pair of officers told her they had received a “disturbance” and asked the boys to stop, she claimed.
When Masha refused to close the booth, offering to pay a fine, the officers allegedly threatened to arrest her.
“And he says, ‘do you think because you’re in a wheelchair that you’re above the law?’  said Masha.
“He said, ‘I admire what you’re doing here, but basically, you’re selling lemonade on the street.’  I said “I’m not on the street, I’m on my property.”
Massa said the tension was defused after the police supervisor was called to the scene.
But immediately after he left, two more police patrol cars pulled up, he 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 she did not allow people to buy 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 painful for her boys, she explained, one of whom has autism. “I feel harassed. I feel like this was an incredible injustice,” she said. “People with MS don’t deserve this. The boys don’t deserve this. The community doesn’t deserve this.” “I was very sad,” said 8-year-old Ariel. 11-year-old Nessa was afraid that his mom would go to jail. “I would make more lemonade and make more money so I could save it,” he said. The Montreal Police Department (SPVM) has not yet responded to CTV News’ request for comment.

THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AXIGEN

News of the police intervention spread quickly through 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,” reads a post on the West Island Community Facebook page.  “It broke my heart that their mother broke down in tears in front of me and her children.”
“The fact that the police actually intervened… Really pisses me off,” reads one comment.

Ayana Massa’s 11-year-old son Nessa said he would use the lemonade money to “break” her out of jail. (CTV News)
Dimitrios Jim Beis, the mayor of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, was at Massa’s home on 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 under the circumstances?” he said. “My goal, again, is to approach the commander and find out exactly what happened.” He plans to work with Masha and her boys to determine how they can continue to operate their lemonade stand without dealing with issues like noise complaints and licensing issues. For Massa’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 a time to lift each other up,” he said.

LEMON SQUEEZES FOR HEALING

Masha said raising funds for MS research through lemonade was an idea her boys came up with.
“He said, ‘Mom, I want it to be [for] Multiple Sclerosis so you can get a cure and everyone else can get a cure.’  So it was emotional,” he recalls.
The disease, which targets the central nervous system, has no cure.
Within two years of her 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 boys are doing,” he said.  “It’s just a beautiful lesson in generosity, humility and selflessness. It gives me hope. It really is.”

Western Islander Edward Marin brought Ariel and Nessa flowers and a monetary donation when he heard about their efforts to fight MS. (CTV News)
The boys have raised over $2,000 so far, which they plan to send to the MS Society of Canada and the Montreal Neurological Institute. On Saturday alone they won $1,050. “I’m so grateful to the community,” Massa said. “The amount of love these kids have gotten.” With files from CTV’s Luca Caruso-Moro.