Township officials are hopeful a new cemetery bylaw will address ongoing concerns and offer more choice to consumers.
Clerk Patty Sinnamon told council recently there is no indication if or when the province will pass a new Funerals, Burials and Cemeteries Services Act first proposed in 2002.
In the meantime, Mapleton staff has recommended redoing the township’s bylaw to implement some changes that have already been put into practice at the Drayton and Hollen cemeteries, including:
– offering a plot choice to those purchasing interment rights (the current bylaw states purchases are made corresponding to the numerical order of cemetery plots);
– prohibiting double-depth burials due to the “instability of the soil” in the Drayton cemetery (but the township will allow up to three cremated remains to be placed on top of a non-cremated, regular depth interment);
– releasing the township from responsibility for any damage to a casket or urn during a disinterment and also clarifying that if a new casket or urn is required, the person requesting the disinterment is responsible for the cost; and
– permitting the placement of vases and urns in the area designated for flower beds in front of marker foundations.
Sinnamon’s written report to council stated a public meeting must be held prior to the passing of the bylaw, but she later said that is incorrect; the township has only to provide notice upon passing the bylaw.
The document is not effective until it is approved by the Ministry of Consumer Services, which Sinnamon expects to take six to eight weeks after passage.
After little discussion, council unanimously passed the revised cemetery bylaw at its meeting on June 22.
