First maple syrup, now fir resin subject of lucrative heist
It turns out maple isn't the only sap worth stealing.
Fir-resin producer Gérald Charbonneau learned that the hard way when he opened his garage recently to find about 1,000 pounds of his product had been stolen.
Charbonneau runs Gomme de sapin du Québec in Stoneham, about 30 kilometres north of Quebec City.
He noticed the theft of the year's harvest — worth about $35,000 — when he returned home from the Thanksgiving holiday.
"I opened the door and then closed it again to make sure I saw it right," Charbonneau said.
"I didn't believe it."
Harvested by hand
Charbonneau said the resin is harvested with specially made artisanal tools.
The resin is collected drop-by-drop from balsam fir trees.
"Pure gold of Quebec," Charbonneau called it.
The money from the sale of his product was supposed to finance the opening of a forest museum in the Eastern Townships in the next few weeks.
Fir resin can be used in glue sealant, cold medicine, wood varnish and in traditional medicines as an antiseptic.
Quebec's provincial police have opened an investigation into the theft.
