10-year-old Kristopher Cadieux and his eight-year-old brother Clayton were just trying to make a little bit of money this summer.
"I want a four wheeler," says Clayton. "And he (Kristopher) wants a dirt bike."
The boys were in their second summer of selling worms. They picked them, packaged them by the dozen and sold them from a cooler in front of their house.
But the city of Cornwall has opened a new can of worms, saying the boys are breaking a bylaw.
The Cadieux family arrived home on Friday to find a notice from the city, explaining they had to shut the business down, or face a $240 fine a day.
The boys had a couple of signs made by their parents, who own a sign company. But the city says that was part of the problem.
"Two issues right now are the signage...and the activity was actually taking place outside on the lawn," says Ken Bedford, a supervisor in the city's planning division.
"They need to bring it back into the house, in a limited area of the house, as well as curb the signage."
The brothers sell worms for $2.50/dozen and mostly operate on the honour system. They leave a cooler out on the porch and put the signs up, trusting people to leave the money.
"Pretty sad because we were making a lot of money and I liked getting the money and I liked meeting new people and we talked to all our customers when they came," says Kristopher.
The boys father, Robert, encouraged them to start the business and he's been instilling lessons from the beginning.
"You have to work for your money," says Kristopher. "Your parents won't just give it to you."
As of Tuesday morning, the boys were allowed to sell their worms again, but only from inside their house.
Cornwall city councillor Justin Towndale is among those who wants to see the bylaw changed.
"Let kids be kids," Towndale says. " This is something kids do every summer to earn a little extra money. We're going to be looking to fix that and I seem to have the support of the majority of my colleagues."
Council will discuss the matter at their August 10th meeting. Even if a change is made, the resolution probably won't come into effect until September.
