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Some Canadian provinces have logged a jump in unclaimed dead bodies in recent years, with next of kin citing funeral costs as a growing reason for not collecting loved ones’ remains.
The phenomenon has prompted at least one province to build a new storage facility. Demand for memorial fundraisers has surged. The overall cost of a funeral in Canada at the top end has increased to about $8,800 from about $6,000 in 1998, according to industry trade group estimates.
Now, in the wake of an uproar over unclaimed bodies kept in freezers outside the (Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador), the province is constructing a permanent storage unit to hold remains.
“People weren’t claiming bodies because they realized they couldn’t afford to bury them,” said Jim Dinn, leader of the province’s opposition New Democratic Party. “It’s not about building a bigger storage unit: It’s about addressing the underlying cause causing the accumulation of bodies and removing the barriers so people can have a dignified burial.”
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Former funeral director. How to leave a body unclaimed was an unfortunately common discussion I’ve had with people. It starts with “What is the cheapest option?” Followed by “What if I can’t afford that?”
It makes no sense that the government won’t assist a family with burial expenses but will pay to bury an unclaimed body. The Canada Pension Plan death benefit is only $2,500. It’s taxable and the amount has not increased in over a decade. The cheapest funeral options now cost about $3,000 - $4,000. People shouldn’t need to worry about their financial situation immediately after their loved one dies.
Pretty crazy that cremation isn’t a public service
What are we paying tax for if it isn’t to burn our bodies then throw us in a landfill
You’re paying taxes to give 2B to AI bros and 18B to oil and gas, and that STILL isn’t enough. You need to pay more taxes and we need to shovel more people into this shit hole to keep the pyramid growing.
When my father died, the Uber driver taking me from my hotel to my family was a woman in the same boat. She told me she was breaking her neck to earn enough in the next couple of days to claim her father’s remains from a funeral home. We chatted about our situations. I asked if she’d be offended if I gave her a donation to help. She was so fucking grateful. We could afford the expenses, so it was a real reminder of how barbaric the system is when you’re living on the edge monetarily. She didn’t even have time to grieve because she had to hustle / grind.
What is also insulting is death tax
Well, “death tax” at least ( unless I understand what you mean ) is just a portion of the deceased estate. So, they can at least afford it.
I would actually be ok if a basic level of funeral expenses were covered by the state. Like health care, the idea that we, as a society, can take care of everybody to a minimum level appeals to me.
It does not have to be extravagant but people should not be afraid to collect loved ones because of the financial burden.
I agreed a death coverage should be standard for everyone…basic minimum anyway
Meh. I’d be less ok with it if massively-wealthy people weren’t able to skirt taxes in life. Maybe get rid of it for people under a certain means. But even better, make the wealthy pay their fair share while they’re alive.
This kind of thing won’t stop until rich people start having to deal with unplanned burials.
Make of that what you will.
I’m not a finance expert but I feel like in the long run it’d be cheaper to raise the death benefit or subsidize cremation services than to build dead body storage facilities all over the country.
Yeah seriously, everybody dies (for now at least) let’s just provide basic disposal for bodies as a government service. If you want to have a funeral or other celebration you are welcome too and if you want a “fancier” disposal (like burying in a cemetery) you can pay for that. But it seems like basic disposal should be provided.
This is what I don’t understand about the business. It’s a guaranteed income. There will always be dead people. Why tf do they have to charge so damn much?? They will still be pretty rich and have a guaranteed income I think. It’s extortion imho.
I have a strong suspicion that this won’t be a guaranteed income in the near future. There’s already human testing for life extension treatments, so it won’t be a surprise that in twenty years, we’ll see a serious decline of profits both for funeral homes and in elderly care facilities making them both rarities.
That said, I do think that cremation or something similar should be a subsidized if not a free government service. Being charged an arm for dealing with a tragedy is just plain exploitation and there should be alternatives for those who aren’t in the best positions. There’s already so much paperwork and other things people have to deal with, it’s a wonder that this hasn’t been a major public issue for decades now.
It will be more profitable to throw dead bodies into industrial composters and generate energy which can then be sold for a sweet profit.
It’s crazy that it’s up to individuals whether they can afford to have their relatives buried. It should be one of the first basic things a civilized country takes care of.
I think they do.
Edit:nope, and there are many much worse than Canada with Japan being the worst by a mile
The government needs to regulate the funeral industry and lower costs.
Funerals are one thing. That is basically a party and I think people can choose to do what they want. But I think that basic body disposal should be provided (and separated from any funeral provider as much as desired).
This is a good point. The service can be anything from something small to something big. But burial shouldn’t cost so damn much.
The government can’t regulate itself, why would it take on something new?
Wandering around the Internet a bit, it looks like the cheapest option for disposing of a body in Canada today is basic cremation (no funeral service, no urn, no coffin, no enbalming). Even that runs to around $2000, with some variation between funeral homes. If the CPP death benefit is $2500 before taxes, it might barely cover that, although I expect it would be tight. The major costs are the actual use of the crematorium (~40% of the cost on its own), paying funeral home staff to transport and refrigerate the body, and costs associated with legal documentation.
If you want to bury instead of burn, the cost baloons because cemetary plots and the services cemetaries require you to buy to make use of them are ridiculously expensive. Maybe what we need is a return to the pauper’s field—$20 plots, no landscaping, and you dig your own hole (with maybe a quick check from someone official to make sure it’s deep enough for sanitary purposes), transport the corpse in whatever vehicle is available, have anyone willing say a few words, get family or friends to help you lower the unfinished softwood crate-coffin, and add whatever marker you can afford after you fill the hole back in. You know, like poor people used to do up until a hundred or so years ago. You’ll still need the body refrigeration, and the documentation, but it should be possible to get the costs down by considerable if we focus more on the necessary and less on the pretty and on overpriced “respect” for a deceased who, by definition, cannot be aware of it.
For now, though, set aside some money specifically to pay for disposing of your body, if you can. You heirs will thank you for it.
I hear what you are saying, my thought would be murders taking advantage of a DYI burial site.
The main point of charging anything at all for a plot would be to finance minimal record keeping: which plots are supposed to be full, who’s in them, and, ideally, who bought the space. Plus a quick “do you have a death certificate?” check, and a request to inform whoever’s doing the admin if you get to the pauper’s field and find the plot you expected to use already occupied. Not an insurmountable barrier for a determined murderer who’s done some advance planning, but it should make it less attractive as a dumping ground.
I guess just bury me in a ditch, or just leave me there if burying is too expensive. 😮💨
We have on the west coast a few memorial forests – unsure what the fees are for a plot there, but I think those are a great idea.
I wonder how green burials compare with cremation?
