'I feel harassed': Montreal-area mom with MS outraged after police interrupt lemonade fundraiser

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 police to intervene.

But that's exactly what happened Saturday afternoon, according to mother Ayana Massa.

Ness and Ariel Partouche-Massa, ages 8 and 11, were using a megaphone to advertise their product, with calls of "lemonade, lemonade, $1 lemonade for multiple sclerosis!" filling the air along their street in Roxboro, in the West Island.

But while some neighbours responded by stopping by and buying a glass, one man wasn't pleased.

Massa said an unfamiliar man appeared on her lawn around 10:45 a.m., swearing at her children and promising to "get them shut down."

"Lo and behold, 15 minutes later, the first police car came," Massa told CTV News.

A pair of officers told her they received a "nuisance call" and asked the boys to stop, she alleged.

When Massa refused to shut down the stand, offering to pay a fine instead, the officers reportedly threatened to arrest her.

"And he says, 'you think because you're in a wheelchair that you're above the law?'" Massa recounted.

"He said, 'I admire what you're doing here, but essentially, you're selling lemonade on the street.' I said, 'I'm not on the street, I'm on my property.'"

Massa said the tension eased after the officers' supervisor was called to the scene.

But soon after he left, two more police cars pulled up, she explained.

In a statement sent to CTV News on Monday, Montreal police (SPVM) denied that officers threatened arrest.

"None of the officers present threatened to arrest the mother, who insisted on continuing to use the megaphone, nor did the officers wish to give her a statement of offence. They simply asked her repeatedly to stop using the megaphone, for the sake of the neighbourhood's peace and quiet," the statement reads.

"They also explained the powers and duties of the SPVM police officers in terms of procedures for stopping this type of offence, i.e. issuing a statement of offence and, in an extreme case of refusal to comply, the possibility of arresting the offender. Once again, no one wanted to go there."

Police also denied there was an attempt to close the lemonade stand.

"Although the borough's zoning by-law prohibits the sale of lemonade in residential areas, it is the responsibility of Pierrefonds-Roxboro inspectors to deal with this type of case, not the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM)."

Nessa, 11, and Ariel, 8, will donate the money they raised at their lemonade stand to MS research. (CTV News)

Massa had a different interpretation of events, accusing police of behaving in an aggressive manner and threatening to arrest her on numerous occasions.

Police reportedly stayed in her yard for hours, during which time they didn't allow people to purchase 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 distressing for her boys, she explained, one of whom has autism.

"I feel harassed. I feel that this 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 feared his mom would go to jail.

"I would make more lemonade, and make more money, so I could bail her out," he said.

LOCAL COMMUNITY OUTRAGED

News of the police intervention quickly spread around 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 one post to the West Island Community Facebook page. "It broke my heart for their mother to break down in tears in front of me and her kids."

"The fact that police actually intervened... Really pisses me off," one comment reads.

Ayana Massa's 11-year-old son, Nessa, said he would use his lemonade stand funds to "bail her out" of jail. (CTV News)

Dimitrios Jim Beis, the mayor of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, was at Massa's home Sunday to offer his support.

He said he plans to speak to Montreal police authorities on Monday to try to learn more about the situation.

"Was it necessary for that type of intervention, under the circumstances?" he said.

"My goal, again, is to reach out to the commander and find out what exactly happened."

He plans to work with Massa and her boys to determine how they can continue to operate their lemonade stand without running into issues like noise complaints and permit problems.

For Massa's part, she wants the SPVM to issue an apology to her boys and make a donation towards MS research.

"I think that this is not a moment to fight each other. I think is a moment to uplift each other," she said.

SQUEEZING LEMONS FOR A CURE

Massa said raising funds for MS research through a lemonade stand was an idea her boys came up with.

"He said, 'Mommy, I want it to be [for] MS so that you can get a cure and everyone else get a cure.' So it was heartwarming," she recalled.

The disease, which targets the central nervous system, has no cure.

In the two years since her diagnosis, Massa has started 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," she said. "It's just a beautiful lesson in generosity and humility and selflessness. It gives me hope. It really does."

West Islander Edward Murrin brought Ariel and Nessa flowers and a cash donation when he learned 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.

They earned $1,050 on Saturday alone.

"I am so grateful to the community," Massa said. "The amount of love that these kids have gotten."

With files from CTV's Luca Caruso-Moro.