North Huron adjusts winter burial policy after local funeral director suggests changes

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

At its final meeting of 2024, the ongoing controversy surrounding North Huron’s policy on winter burial fees was finally laid to rest. Rather than charging the extra fee from Nov. 15 to Apr. 15 regardless of conditions, the fees will only be applied from the onset of winter weather until the spring thaw.

 

The issue was first brought to council’s attention at its Oct. 7 meeting, by a delegation formed by Dayna Deans of McBurney Funeral Home. Deans expressed dismay about changes to the township’s application of winter burial rates that had dramatically increased the cost of services for some grieving families. She explained to council that the flat winter burial fee was now being applied to all winter interments, including niche openings, instead of just ground interments. She also took umbrage with a new practice of strictly enforcing a Nov. 15 start date to the winter burial season, regardless of weather conditions, when it had previously been a discretionary matter. If no extra costs were incurred, no extra charges were applied.

 

In response to Deans’ remonstrations, council requested a follow-up report from staff. On Dec. 16, Director of Public Works Dax McAllister presented council with a report that outlined four possible options to address the problem, which predates his tenure as department head.

 

The first option would be to stick with the status quo. No changes would be made to the opening and closing dates for winter burial fees - it would continue to be Nov. 15 to Apr. 15. However, McAllister did not recommend this option, as it did not address Deans’ concerns.

 

The second option would give the Director of Public Works the authority to use discretion as to when the winter burial rates would be charged, based on weather conditions. This would allow the possibility for burials all year round, depending on weather. 

 

The third option would entail amending the dates on which the charging of winter burial rates would begin and end. The fourth option considered the possibility of raising the current regular ground interment rate for both residents and non-residents to accommodate winter burials. It would eliminate the Nov. 15 - Apr. 15 cemetery closures altogether, and allow burials year-round. McAllister warned that both these choices could lead to staff overtime within the Public Works Department, as they would still need to meet the minimum maintenance standards for winter operations and maintenance as roads operators. 

 

Councillor Mitch Wright was looking for a solution that took a more nuanced approach to the different types of winter burials that Deans had brought to their attention. “I understand that we want to charge the extra cost that we incur when we’re doing winter burials,” he said. “It seems to me that, if you’re opening up a gravesite in the middle of January, that has significantly more cost associated with it than if you’re just opening up a niche in January… it seems like having one flat rate for all winter interments may not actually be a cost-recovery model. If our intent is to recover costs, I would think interment of cremated remains in a niche would not be as expensive as winter burial.”

 

McAllister agreed that the cost of opening a niche is likely significantly lower than a ground interment, but added that there are still extra costs associated with winter niche interments. “We still need to maintain access in and out to the columbarium, or any other place, so we would still need to plow in and plow out, sand and salt - we would still need to do that winter maintenance to ensure that it’s safe for anyone that’s accessing the facility,” he explained. 

 

Councillor Chris Palmer felt that the second option made the most sense. “To me, that would work. As long as you could work very hard at pushing it a little bit longer in the season, and a little bit earlier in the spring, then it would make some people happier… if we can show that we can make a bit of a movement, that might help the situation.”

 

McAllister had reservations about the practicalities of the second option, which relies on subjective human observation. “It comes down to a matter of opinion. Right now, we stick to the dates, and we don’t need to get an opinion based on whether it’s too dangerous or safe enough. Our dates are there.”

 

Councillor Anita van Hittersum pointed out that North Huron’s cemetery fee schedule is competitive with other, nearby municipalities, and that Deans is just one funeral director out of many and no others have complained to the township. “I would like to propose to go with the status quo and keep it the way it is.” Deputy-Reeve Kevin Falconer seconded the motion, but it was defeated 4-3.

 

Wright suggested the second option, but with a few tweaks. “I think, really, what we’re looking for is not so much a discretionary decision from the Director, but to define ‘closing’ as ‘when winter conditions arrive,’ and ‘opening’ as ‘when winter conditions end’… I think that would still provide the flexibility to provide burials cheaper when we don’t actually have winter conditions, but not put all the onus on the discretionary decision of our Director of Public Works. I think it was pretty clear this year when winter started - it was a Friday morning,” he said.

 

McAllister sought clarity as to how they would decide what “winter conditions” were each year, and Wright had a simple solution. “I think it’s all based around the extra cost. So, if you have to plow, if the ground is frozen, if it takes longer to dig - that’s what I think of as ‘winter conditions’… if you have to bring extra equipment in to perform a burial, then that would be ‘winter conditions.’”

 

Wright’s motion was brought to a vote, which carried 4-3.