Advice for Consumers: Shop around – Prices of services can vary greatly

Prices for services and products vary greatly across Ontario and within communities at funeral homes, cemeteries and crematoriums.

The Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO) encourages you to shop around and compare prices to ensure the information and/or quotes you receive from bereavement businesses are fair and reasonable. Ask them for their price list, which they are obligated by law to provide.

Here’s an example of prices offered around the province for direct cremation (with no funeral services), full funeral services, and interment in a niche wall or in-ground. Notice the big differences in the prices in this chart, provided by the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario in its report published in December 2020.

Pre-plan

Even though you are grieving, it’s important to compare prices. We also recommend that you preplan family funerals, so that you may avoid having to make arrangements when you are grieving the loss of a loved one. Read the BAO’s free online Consumer Information Guide for more information.

TheBAO.ca – We’re here for you.

About the BAO

The Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO) is a government delegated authority administering provisions of the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 (FBCSA) on behalf of the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services. Responsible for protection of the public interest, the BAO regulates and supports 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).