Frequently Asked Questions
Prepaid Arrangements
What is a prepaid arrangement?
A prepaid arrangement is a prearranged and prepaid contract between you and a funeral establishment or transfer service that outlines services and supplies (Source: Board of Funeral Services). Please note that the term "prearranged" means that your last wishes have been documented but not prepaid. The Society encourages prearrangement but leaves prepayment to the discretion of the individual.
What happens to my money?
You have two options; either it is held in trust for you (e.g. at a bank, trust company, or credit union), or you may purchase a life insurance product. The Board of Funeral Services states:
Legislation provides several means for ensuring protection of prepaid funds. At the time of prepayment, the funeral director or transfer service operator must provide the purchaser with a contract, signed by the purchaser and the funeral director, showing clearly the services you have selected and the monies you have paid. Within 10 days of the investment of the prepaid funds, the funeral establishment or transfer service operator must deliver to the purchaser an investment receipt from the financial institution that the investment has been made.
If you do not receive a receipt within this time frame we encourage you to contact the funeral home or transfer service. In addition, trust funds are inspected by the Board of Funeral Services. Funeral establishments and transfer service operators must annually submit to the Board of Funeral Services a Report of the Public Accountant on their trust funds. The Board of Funeral Services administers a Compensation Fund that provides compensation in the event of misappropriation of trust monies
Are prices and services guaranteed?
The Board of Funeral Services states:
Funeral homes do not have to guarantee services that have been prepaid. Purchasers should ensure that the contract clearly states whether or not the price will be guaranteed.
At the time of death the funeral director or transfer service will calculate cost based on the current prices. If the principal plus interest or insurance death benefit is less than the cost of services no other money is owed.
If you prepaid after June 1, 1990 the balance, if any, of the prepayment funds that are in excess of the cost of delivering the services and supplies contracted for must be refunded to the estate. If you prepaid prior to June 1, 1990 the funds will be refunded at the funeral establishments discretion.
Will my money be returned if I change my mind?
The Board of Funeral Services states:
Yes. When a written request is received, all monies including principal and accrued interest must be refunded. However, the funeral home or transfer service may keep an administration fee of 10% of the funds to a maximum of $200.00 if the contract is cancelled after thirty days. The financial institution or insurance company may also charge a cancellation fee.
How can I obtain information about services and costs?
We promote preplanning and encourage you to contact us for the latest pricelists and information from cooperating funeral providers and transfer service operators in your area. Alternatively, you may contact several service providers directly to obtain and compare pricelists. The Board of Funeral Services notes that funeral establishments and transfer services must provide a pricelist without cost or obligation.
Also, please check our News page for current information and agreements with cooperating funeral service providers for the Kitchener Waterloo area.
Moment of Death
What do I do when someone dies?
The Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer Services provides the following information from Life Events: What to Do When Someone Dies:
Call the attending physician if there is an expected death. If the death is unexpected, there is no doctor available and no emergency services in your area, or you are concerned or uncertain about the circumstances surrounding a death, contact your local coroner's office or the Office of the Chief Coroner.
If your arrangements will include a funeral or a direct disposition you may contact a funeral home or a transfer service. Funeral directors can help you make all the arrangements for funerals. For more information, contact the Board of Funeral Services (416-979-5450 / 1 800 387-4458).
Should your arrangements also include burial or cremation the cemetery or crematorium you choose can help you make the necessary arrangements. If you have questions relating to cemeteries and crematoriums and the services and supplies that they offer, contact the Ministry of Government Services, Cemeteries Section (416-326-8393 / 1 800 268-1142).
There are organizations such as Bereaved Families of Ontario, the Ontario Psychological Association, and Distress Centres who can help you through this time.
Funeral Arrangements
What is burial?
Wikipedia states:
Burial, also called interment and inhumation, is the act of placing a person into the ground. This is accomplished by digging a pit or trench, placing the person in it, and replacing the soil.
After death, a corpse will start to decay and emit unpleasant odours due to gases released by bacterial decomposition. Burial prevents the living from having to see and smell the decomposing corpse, but it is not necessarily a public health requirement. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the WHO [World Health Organization] advises that only corpses carrying an infectious disease strictly require burial.
What is embalming?
Wikipedia states:
Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and to make them suitable for display at a funeral. The three goals of embalming are thus preservation, sanitization, and presentation (or restoration) of a dead body to achieve this effect. Embalming has a very long and cross-cultural history, with many cultures giving the embalming processes a greater religious meaning.
The actual embalming process usually involves four parts:
1. Arterial embalming, which involves the injection of embalming chemicals into the blood vessels, usually via the right common carotid artery. Blood is displaced from the right jugular vein. The embalming solution is injected through a mechanical pump and the embalmer massages the corpse to ensure a proper distribution of the embalming fluid. In case of poor circulation, other injection points are used.
2. Cavity embalming, the suction of the internal fluids of the corpse and the injection of embalming chemicals into body cavities, using an aspirator and trocar. The embalmer makes a small incision just above the navel and pushes the trocar in the chest and stomach cavities to puncture the hollow organs and aspirate their contents. He then fills the cavities with concentrated chemicals that contain formaldehyde. The incision is either sutured closed or a "trocar button" is screwed into place.
3. Hypodermic embalming, the injection of embalming chemicals under the skin as needed.
4. Surface embalming, which supplements the other methods, especially for visible, injured body parts
A typical embalming takes one to two hours. An embalming case that requires more attention could take longer. The repair of an autopsy case or the restoration of a long bone donor are two such examples.
Mummification is a more extensive method of embalming, further delaying the decay process.
Is embalming required in Ontario?
Embalming is not required in Ontario, although it may be necessary under some circumstances (Source: Board of Funeral Services).
Is there a non-toxic alternative to regular embalming fluid?
Yes. On the heels of the proposed formaldehyde ban in Europe, companies have created non-toxic alternatives. AARDbalm, a leading supplier to the European funeral industry, has created a product that is friendly to embalmers and the environment (Source: Formaldehyde ban set for 22 Sept 2007. Web Wire July 4 2007).
How much do funerals and transfer services cost?
Costs depend entirely on the goods and services selected by you. While funeral service operators are required to provide pricelists of their products and services, prices may vary from business to business. We encourage you to contact us for the most up-to-date pricelists from cooperating funeral homes in your area.
Also, please check our News page for current information and agreements with cooperating funeral service providers for the Kitchener Waterloo area.
Is it necessary to retain the services of a funeral director or transfer service?
No. It is possible to bury a member of your own family provided you comply with all relevant legislation (Source: Board of Funeral Services).
Must a casket be placed in an outside container for burial?
The Board of Funeral Services states:
This is not the law in Ontario. However, local customs vary and some cemeteries have by-laws requiring that outside containers be used for interment. For more information contact Cemetery Regulations, Ministry of Consumer & Commercial Relations; Tel: (416) 326-8392.
Why do environmentalists oppose conventional burials?
Wikipedia states:
Each year, 22,500 cemeteries across the United States bury approximately:
• 30 million board feet (70,000 m³) of hardwoods (caskets)
• 90,272 tons of steel (caskets)
• 14,000 tons of steel (vaults)
• 2,700 tons of copper and bronze (caskets)
• 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete (vaults)
• 827,060 US gallons (3,130 m³)
of embalming fluid, which most commonly includes
formaldehyde. However it is worth noting that embalming fluid
chemically changes
in the act of preserving the body and is not
largely present as a fluid and this figure
refers to embalming fluid before it is introduced
to the body.
(Compiled from statistics by Casket and Funeral Association of America, Cremation Association of North America, Doric Inc., The Rainforest Action Network, and Mary Woodsen, Pre-Posthumous Society)
Can I build my own casket?
Sure. And construction plans can be quite reasonable. For example, Casket Furniture offers plans for a simple pine coffin for $39.95 USD!
What is a memorial service?
A memorial service is a ceremony given for the deceased without the body present.
Wikipedia states:
This may take place after an earth burial, donation of the body to an institution such as a school, cremation (sometimes the cremations are present), entombment, or burial at sea. Typically these services take place at the funeral home and may include prayers, poems, or songs to remember the deceased. Pictures of the deceased are usually placed at the altar where the body would normally be.
According to eHow:
Generally, memorial services are held several weeks or even months following the death, or sometimes on the first anniversary of the death. Consider a church setting for formality, or a community center, park, lodge or beach for a more informal gathering.
Cremation
What is cremation?
Wikipedia states:
Cremation is the act of reducing a corpse by burning, generally in a crematorium furnace or crematory fire. Contrary to popular belief, the remains are not ashes, but rather bone fragments which are then crushed in a device called a cremulator. In funerals, cremation can be an alternative funeral rite to the burial of a body in a grave.
The box containing the body is placed in the retort (or cremator) and incinerated at a temperature of 760 to 1150 °C (1400 to 2100 °F). During the cremation process, a large part of the body (especially the organs) and other soft tissue are vaporized and oxidized due to the heat, and the gases are discharged through the exhaust system. The entire process usually takes about two hours.
All that remains after cremation are dry bone fragments (mostly calcium phosphates and minor minerals). These represent roughly 3.5% of the body's original mass (2.5% in children, but these figures vary greatly due to body composition).
After the incineration is completed, the bone fragments are swept out of the retort, and the operator uses a pulverizer called a cremulator to process them into what are known as cremains which exhibit the appearance of grains of sand (note that this varies with the efficiency of the cremulator used, and recognizable chips of very dry bone may be seen in some final product cremated remains, depending on origin and facility). Cremulators usually use some kind of rotating or grinding mechanism to powder the bones, such as the heavy metal bearings on older models.
Not all that remains is bone. There will be melted metal lumps from missed jewellery, casket furniture, and dental fillings, and surgical implants such as hip replacements. Large items such as titanium hip replacements are usually removed before grinding, as they may damage the grinder. After grinding, smaller bits of metal are sieved out and later interred in common, consecrated ground in a remote area of the cemetery.
Cremated remains are returned to the next of kin in a rectangular plastic container, contained within a further cardboard box or velvet sack, or in an urn if the family had already purchased one.
Is a casket required by law for cremation?
No. However, if a casket is not used, crematoria require that the body be enclosed in a rigid container of combustible material (Source: Board of Funeral Services).
What is done with the cremation remains?
Cremated remains may be retained by the family, interred in a cemetery, placed in a columbarium, or scattered on one's private property or in a designated area of a cemetery (Source: Board of Funeral Services).
Wikipedia states:
Cremated remains can be kept in an urn, sprinkled on a special field, mountain, in the sea, or buried in the ground. In addition, there are several services which will scatter the cremated remains in a variety of ways and locations. Some examples are via a helium balloon, through fireworks, shot from shotgun shells or scattered from a plane. One service will send the remains into space and another will have them turned into a diamond in an artificial diamond manufacturing machine, as the ashes are mainly carbon based. They can also be incorporated, with urn and cement, into part of an artificial reef, or they can also be mixed into paint and made into a portrait of the deceased. Cremated remains can be scattered in national parks in the US, with a special permit. They can also be scattered on private property, with the owner's permission. A portion of the cremated remains may be retained in a specially designed locket known as a keepsake pendant.
The final disposition depends on the personal wishes of the deceased as well as their religious beliefs. Some religions will permit the cremated remains to be sprinkled or kept at home. Some religions, such as Roman Catholicism, insist on either burying or entombing the remains. Hinduism obliges the closest male relative (son, father, husband, etc.) of the deceased to immerse the cremated remains in the holy river Ganges.
Do I have to buy an urn?
No. The ashes are returned to you in a small plastic box (Source: Board of Funeral Services).
Are there environmental benefits as a result of cremation?
Wikipedia states:
To some, cremation might be preferable for environmental reasons. Burial is a known source of certain environmental contaminants. Embalming fluids, for example, are known to contaminate groundwater with mercury, arsenic and formaldehyde. The coffins themselves are another known source of contamination. Another concern is contamination from radioisotopes that entered the body before death or burial (from, among other things, radiation therapy); it is possible that the decay of such corpses could cause environmental pollution.
Yet another environmental concern, of sorts, is that traditional burial takes up a great deal of space. In a traditional burial the body is buried in a casket made from a variety of materials. In America the casket is often placed inside a concrete vault or liner before burial in the ground. While individually this may not take much room, combined with other burials it can over time cause serious space concerns. Many cemeteries, particularly in Japan and Europe as well as those in larger cities, are starting to run out of space. In Tokyo, for example, traditional burial plots are extremely scarce and expensive, and in London, a space crisis led [politician] Harriet Harman to propose re-opening old graves for "double-decker" burials.
Are there any environmental concerns as a result of cremation?
Wikipedia states:
There is a growing body of research that indicates cremation has a significant impact on the environment:
The major emissions from crematories are: nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, mercury, hydrogen fluoride (HF), hydrogen chloride (HCl), NMVOCs [non-methane volatile organic compounds], and other heavy metals, in addition to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP).
According to the United Nations Environment Programme report on POP Emission Inventory Guidebook, emissions from crematoria, although comparatively small on an international scale, are still statistically significant. The POP inventory indicates that crematoria contribute 0.2% of the global emission of dioxins and furans.
Funeral Alternatives
What happens if I don't want a conventional funeral?
The Board of Funeral Services states:
All funeral homes must offer an inexpensive service known as 'direct disposition'. Transfer Services are companies that may only offer the 'direct disposition' option.
What is direct disposition?
The Board of Funeral Services states:
This option includes the removal of the deceased from the place of death, the placement of the body in a container or casket, the delivery of the body to the cemetery or crematorium and the filing of necessary documentation. It does not include visitation or services with the body present.
You can have either cremation or earth burial.
What is a green or natural burial?
A green or natural burial is an environmentally sustainable alternative to traditional funeral practices. The body is prepared without chemical preservatives and is buried at an eco-cemetery in a biodegradable casket or simple shroud, where the body is returned to the earth to decompose and recycle naturally (Source: Wikipedia).
Wikipedia states:
A natural burial preserve often uses grave markers that don’t intrude on the landscape. These natural markers can include shrubs and trees, or a flat indigenous stone which may be engraved. The burial ground may be designed with centralised memorial structures where visitors can sit within an emerging forest. As in all cemeteries, there are careful records kept of the exact location of each interment, often using modern survey techniques such as GIS [geographic information system ].
Planting native trees, shrubs and flowers on or near the grave establishes a living memorial and helps form a protected wildlife preserve. Irrigation is not used, nor are pesticides and herbicides applied; instead, a natural burial preserves, protects and restores nature.
Cemetery legislation protects natural burial preserves in perpetuity from future development while the establishment of a conservation easement prevents future owners from altering the original intent for these burial grounds. For people who are mindful of the cyclical nature of life, a natural burial is a spiritually fulfilling and environmentally benign alternative to conventional burial methods.
Mike Salisbury is a leading advocate of the natural burial movement in Canada and the current president of the Natural Burial Co-operative in Toronto. A full member of the Ontario Association of landscape Architects and the principal of Earthartist Landscape Architecture, Salisbury provides planning design and consultation to groups throughout North America involved in establishing new natural burial grounds. Salisbury has helped develop natural burial standards that encourage sustainability in the death care industry and facilitate ecological restoration and landscape level conservation.
How much is a biodegradable casket?
Prices will vary, so you may wish to consider buying direct. For example, Eternity Casket offers an easy-to-assemble Eternity Enviro-Casket made of recycled corrugated cardboard for $385 USD. It comes in your choice of plain, pine or cherry finishes!
What is an ecological funeral or promession?
Wikipedia states:
An ecological funeral, also known as promession, is a method for allowing the body of the deceased to decompose in an environmentally-friendly way. It was invented and patented in 1999 by the Swedish biologist Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak.
The following three steps characterize the method:
1. Reducing the body of the deceased to a fine powder, thereby allowing later decomposition to be aerobic. This is achieved by submerging the body in liquid nitrogen, which makes the remains so brittle that it shatters as the result of a slight vibration. The remains are then dried, reducing them to around 30% of the original body weight.
2. Removal and recycling of metals.
3. Burying the powder shallowly in a biodegradable casket.
The volume of remains left by this procedure is about three times that left by a cremation, but the claimed advantages include the avoidance of the release of pollutants into the atmosphere, such as mercury vapour from dental fillings, and the rapid degradation of the remains after the procedure (6-12 months). The procedure meets the requirements of new European Union pollution laws.
The first facilities for ecological funerals, known as Promators, should be ready in 2008 in Sweden, Germany, Great Britain, South Korea and South Africa.
The terms promession and Promator are artificially created terms. The term promession is derived from the Italian word for promise, and the promise is good environmental management of the Earth.
See Promessa's 2-minute video Ecologically Sensitive Burials on You Tube!
How much does promession cost?
The cost is expected to be similar to that for cremation, which is about one-third the price of a grave plot and traditional burial (Source: MacGregor, Fiona. Freeze-drying touted as new green burial. The Scotsman 14 Oct 2005).
What is a sky burial?
Wikipedia states:
Sky burial or ritual dissection was once a common practice in Tibet. A human corpse is cut into small pieces and placed on a mountaintop, exposing it to the elements and animals – especially to birds of prey. In Tibetan the practice is known as jhator, which literally means, "giving alms to the birds."
The majority of Tibetans adhere to Buddhism, which teaches reincarnation. There is no need to preserve the body, as it is now an empty vessel. Birds may eat it, or nature may let it decompose. So the function of the sky burial is simply the disposal of the remains. In much of Tibet the ground is too hard and rocky to dig a grave, and with fuel and timber scarce, a sky burial is often more practical than cremation.
Additionally, since no fuel, land, or topsoil is consumed, this way of burial is arguably more ecologically friendly than cremation or interment.
Medical Science
Is it possible to donate my body or organs to medical science?
Yes. However your wishes should be discussed with your family (Source: Board of Funeral Services).
What is cryonics and cryopreservation?
Wikipedia states:
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and other animals that can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine until resuscitation may be possible in the future. Human cryopreservation is not currently reversible. In the United States, cryonics can only be legally performed on humans after pronounced legally dead. The rationale for cryonics is that the process may be reversible in the future if performed soon enough, and that cryopreserved people may not really be dead by the information-theoretic definition of death. Cryonics is derived from the Greek word kryos, meaning icy cold.
There is a high representation of scientists among cryonics supporters. Scientific support for cryonics is based on studies showing substantial preservation of brain cell structure by current methods, and projections of future technology, especially molecular nanotechnology and nanomedicine. Some scientists believe that future medicine will enable molecular-level repair and regeneration of damaged tissues and organs decades or centuries in the future. Disease and aging are also assumed to be reversible. Many ethical questions revolve around the issue of whether cryonics can work.
The modern concept of cryonics as a general procedure to apply whenever patients are considered beyond help by the medicine of their time was originated in 1962 by Robert Ettinger. The largest current practitioners of cryonics are two member-owned, non-profit organizations, the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, with 77 cryopreserved patients and the Cryonics Institute in Clinton Township, Michigan, with 85.
The Society notes that cryonics is clearly not an alternative interment method since the brain cannot be dead for the concept to be successful. Cryonics is a speculative life support technology because it requires a medical procedure to physically preserve the body in the hope that it will one day be technologically possible to revive the individual.
Legal
Who is responsible for final arrangements?
The Board of Funeral Services states:
The Executor and/or next of kin bear legal responsibility in the disposition of the deceased. It is prudent for the executor to include the family in any decisions regarding final arrangements
Taxation
What do I do about the deceased's taxes and benefits?
If you are the legal representative of a deceased you should contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to provide the deceased's date of death. You should provide a copy of the death certificate and a complete copy of the will or other legal document, although these may be sent in with the deceased's Final Return. The CRA will provide further guidance regarding benefits (please see the CRA's What to Do When Someone Has Died). Your tax preparer or financial advisor should be able to provide additional assistance.