Registrar orders cemetery board in northern Ontario to cease selling and offering to sell licensed supplies and/or services

On May 7, 2026, the Registrar under the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 (the Act), issued an Order to O’Connor Free Methodist Cemetery Board, in Thunder Bay, to cease and desist selling and offering to sell licensed supplies and/or services.

Under the authority of subsection 109 (7) of Ontario Regulation 30/11, the Registrar has ordered O’Connor Free Methodist Cemetery Board 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.

As long as the Cease-and-Desist Order is in effect the cemetery board may not provide licensed at-need supplies and services. However, given the continuing needs of consumers, anyone who purchased prepaid services and/or has existing interment rights before this Cease-and-Desist Order came into effect, may be provided with the prepaid services.

The Order remains in effect until the cemetery board has corrected the noncompliance.

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
MediaInquiries@TheBAO.ca