Notice to the Consumer: Registrar orders Anglican Diocese of Niagara to stop selling burial services

The Anglican Diocese of Niagara has been ordered to immediately stop selling burial services at several cemeteries it operates.

Pursuant to subsection 109(7) Ontario Regulation 30/11, the Registrar, of the Funeral Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 (the Act), has ordered that the Anglican Diocese of Niagara immediately cease:

• Offering to sell licensed supplies and/or services as described in the Act and its Regulations thereunder;
• Selling licensed supplies as described in the Act;
• This Registrar’s Order to Cease and Desist includes selling burial services to licensed funeral establishment operators and their staff, licensed crematorium operators and their staff, and the public.

This order relates to new burials and sales only — and not to prepaid arrangements. Burials will continue for anyone who has interment rights or has previously prepaid for their interment.

The Registrar, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Bereavement Authority of Ontario, has determined that the diocese has its Care and Maintenance Funds invested with an ineligible depository and has mingled the trust fund with other investments. The diocese, which is licensed under the Act, is holding funds improperly and therefore its cemeteries, that have a Care and Maintenance Fund/Account associated with the diocese, are in violation of Ontario Regulation 30/11.

This cease order will remain in place until the diocese has satisfied the Registrar that it is in full compliance with the Act, with a specific focus on reporting requirements and the proper holding of the Care and Maintenance Fund/Account.

Care and Maintenance Fund/Account

A Care and Maintenance Fund/Account is a trust fund that helps ensure the long-term upkeep of a cemetery. The fund pays for maintenance costs after a cemetery has stopped making sales. A cemetery operator is required to make contributions to the fund from the sale of in-ground graves, crypts, tombs, niches and scattering rights. The Act outlines how much is required to contribute from the sale of each of these items. This will be either a percentage of the item’s price (for example, 40 per cent of the price) or a set dollar amount – whichever is greater.

–Jim Cassimatis, CEO/Registrar, BAO

About the BAO

The Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO) is a government delegated authority and not-for-profit corporation administering provisions of the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 (FBCSA). Accountable to the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement and the government, the BAO is responsible for the protection of the public interest. The BAO regulates, ensures compliance with the law, provides resources and services to licensed:

• Funeral establishment operators, directors and preplanners;
• Cemetery, crematorium and alternative disposition operators;
• Transfer service operators; and
• Bereavement sector sales representatives across Ontario.

The BAO is wholly funded by licensee fees (not tax dollars).

Media contact
David.Brazeau@thebao.ca 
Communications Manager, BAO