Twenty-five years ago, Quebec made a bold move to produce the most maple syrup in the world. Today, the syrup giant is unstoppable.

Just ask those in its path, like small producer Angèle Grenier, who will face criminal charges if she sells this year’s harvest to her buyer of choice.

In previous years she has sold syrup to a broker in New Brunswick. But this year, a Quebec court order will force her to hand all the syrup produced on her small patch of land to the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers.

The family has three choices for the upcoming harvest — capitulate to the demands of the court, cease production, or continue to sell it outside the province and face criminal charges.

“The federation’s goal by taking our maple syrup is that by taking our income, we cannot pay our lawyers,” says Grenier. “We’ll send our syrup to them this year because we need the money.”

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