News and Information

Basic Traditions "Lowest Cost" Agreement

Effective November 3 2008, our board of directors unanimously approved an agreement that guarantees for our members the lowest cost cremation service in Ontario.

Basic Traditions is a low cost cremation service offered by Benson Funeral Home of Millbrook, Ontario. The service is available to any resident of Ontario who wishes to have a direct cremation or burial without a service organized by a funeral director. Basic Traditions provides a simple, dignified and professional service without the traditional high cost of funeral service and related merchandise. Memorial services, or life celebrations, are encouraged to be organized by family and friends of the deceased.

For the KW area, the cost to the general public is $1,304.75, which includes the cremation fee, all professional services and fees, all disbursements, mileage charges, a basic container, and applicable taxes.

We checked the pricelists from several service providers and concluded that the Basic Traditions service did indeed provide the best value for the money. Consequently, we established an agreement in which our members receive these additional benefits:

• Our members pay just $1,276, which is guaranteed not to increase for two years.

• Our members have access to additional discounts.

• Our members receive a $100 incentive to transfer existing prearrangements.

While our Society does not promote any specific arrangement or service for the disposition of your last remains, we encourage you to plan ahead. Please review the Basic Traditions website and the KW Memorial Society's Basic Traditions Agreement.

If you are a member of our Society, please examine the offer to see if it will help you to cut costs. If you are not a member of our Society, please join us and save money.

Basic Traditions Website

KW Memorial Society's Basic Traditions Agreement

Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 (FBCSA)

The Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer Services provides the following from the Revised Regulations:

The new Act consolidates and modernizes two existing statutes, the Cemeteries Act (Revised) and the Funeral Directors and Establishments Act.

The primary objective of the new act and regulations is to offer modernized protections and greater transparency to consumers, while at the same time creating a more level playing field for bereavement sector participants under one streamlined legislative framework.

The Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services' Summer 2008 bulletin stated that the revised FBCSA was expected to go before a Policy Committee of Cabinet in September 2008 and then to the Legislation and Regulation Committee in November 2008. The law is expected to be in force in the summer of 2009.

FOOMS-FCA Annual Meeting on October 17-19, 2008

Our Society sent two representatives to the Federation of Ontario Memorial Societies ― Funeral Consumers Alliance (FOOMS-FCA) annual meeting at the Scarboro Missions. Attendance was lower attendance than in 2007, as several local societies continue to struggle with declining membership and lack of funding.

FOOMS-FCA's number one goal is continuing its efforts on the FBCSA until the new act is proclaimed and all regulations are in force.

A highlight from our Society's viewpoint is that John Barker, one of our board members, is now the Vice President of FOOMS-FCA.

Links of Interest

Note: These links are provided as information only and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Society's board or endorsement by the Society. The Society remains neutral and respects each individual's choice of disposition of last remains.

Alcor Life Extension Foundation - Arizona based cryonics provider and research facility

Association for Death Education and Counseling - US based thanatology association that provides conferences, courses and workshops on dying, death and bereavement

Board of Funeral Services - Self-governing body that administers Ontario's Funeral Directors and Establishments Act

Common Ground Magazine - Serves as a resource to help readers live healthier lives and create a sustainable society

Cryonics Institute - Michigan based provider of cryopreservation services and information

Dying With Dignity - Canadian non-profit organization that promotes end-of-life choice and provides education, information and a confidential client support program for individuals faced with important end-of-life decisions

Funeral Consumers Alliance - US based non-profit organization dedicated to protecting a consumer's right to choose a meaningful, dignified, affordable funeral

Funeral Planning 101 - Guelph-based website provides a comprehensive guide to funeral planning

Green Burial Council - US based non-profit organization that provides information on eco-friendly burials and links to approved providers

Green Burials - Information and links to environmentally friendly options to traditional burial in the US

Guaranteed Funeral Deposits - Established in 1961, GFD is an independent organization that administers, invests, and reports on prepaid funeral service funds.

Natural Burial Association - Canadian non-profit organization that promotes green burials and acts as a facilitator to establish natural burial grounds

Natural Burial Company - US based company sells biodegradable caskets and has links to natural burial grounds in the US and Canada

Natural Burial Cooperative - Information on natural burial funeral services, products and memorials in Canada

Obit Magazine: Life Stories and Revealing Obituaries - Challenges assumptions about death and dying through life stories and innovative thinking

Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer Services - Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002

Organ Donation and Transplant Association of Canada - Registered Canadian charity and non-profit organization that administers grant programs and conducts public education initiatives to increase awareness of the critical need for organ and tissue donors

Promessa - A Swedish organization that promotes the practical application of promession (freeze drying using liquid nitrogen) to help foster the concept of "organic life cycle"

See Promessa's 2-minute video Ecologically Sensitive Burials on YouTube!

Sea Services - US based provider of maritime ash scattering

Trillium Gift of Life Network - Ontario's organ and tissue donation agency