Registrar issues order to cemetery operator in Kingston to cease selling and offering to sell licensed supplies and/or services

The Registrar, Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 (the Act) has issued an order to a licensed cemetery operator in Kingston to cease selling and offering to sell licensed supplies and/or services.

The R.C.E.C. of the Diocese of Kingston in Canada is in breach of the Act due to: failure to comply with reporting obligations as prescribed in section 109 of Ontario Regulation 30/11; and, failure to comply with a Registrar’s Order for information under the authority of section 111 of the Act.

Under the authority of subsection 109 (7) of Ontario Regulation 30/11, the Registrar, has ordered the cemetery operator to immediately cease:

• Offering to sell licensed supplies and/or services as described in the Act and the regulations thereunder; and,
• Selling licensed supplies and/or services as described in the Act.

To ensure that these sanctions have no negative impact on the continuing needs of the cemetery operator’s existing bereavement consumers, those who purchased prepaid services and/or have existing interment rights, prior to this Cease-and-Desist Order coming into effect, may be provided with the services that were contracted.

This order remains in effect until the cemetery operator has corrected the non-compliance and has reported back to the Registrar to confirm that they have done so.

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).