KENILWORTH – Wellington North will not perform winter burials at the Mount Forest cemetery due to a lack of staffing and resources.
Mount Forest-based England Funeral Home requested the township consider offering the service so families don’t have to “reopen the wound” of a death come springtime.
That resulted in a staff report and recommendation presented to council on March 20.
“Many families have expressed their wish that the interment takes places shortly following the death, giving them closure and they’ve shared with us how difficult it is for them to ‘re-open the wound’ in the spring,” states the funeral home’s request.
The township has never offered winter burials, but some nearby municipalities do – including Mapleton, Minto, Shelburne and Grey Highlands – at costs ranging from $750 in Minto to $3,550 in Shelburne.
Councillor Sherry Burke did not agree with the staff recommendation against offering the service, and suggested the township charge a steep price to recoup the cost.
But the issue isn’t cost, township clerk Karren Wallace responded.
The township, she explained, simply doesn’t have the staff resources during the winter time.
Keeping roads cleared in the township-owned cemetery during the winter, coupled with the unpredictability of major weather events, may lead to the township not delivering on the service if it were to be offered, Wallace suggested.
A map and promotional material for the Mount Forest Cemetery (Township of Wellington North)
A report from Wallace to council recommending against the service enhancement outlined a number of considerations, including the difficulty of locating grave lots in wintertime, and the “coarse, granular” and “unstable” soil that may result in “cave-ins” from ground water if graves are dug in the late fall.
Specialized equipment may be needed to open frozen ground, and the time required to perform the job could be extensive, the report also states.
The township must perform winter burials if a medical officer of health orders it, and Wallace noted the last time that happened, three staff were occupied for five hours.
In a 4-1 vote, with Burke opposed, council supported Wallace’s recommendation.
Burials will continue at the discretion of the cemetery superintendent from May to mid-November, weather depending.
