Friends of Toronto Public Cemeteries

According to the Funeral Burial Cremation Services Act (FBCSA), operators like MPGC may not solicit business from Long Term Care (LTC) homes or hospices. What is the quid pro quo for MPGC's $10k "donation" to the 'Better Living' palliative care programs in North York? Are there other 'end-of-life' programs receiving payments from MPGC?

Taphophile alert: A hauntingly beautiful piece about abandoned cemeteries in Nova Scotia. A compelling story about preserving memorials. https://www.cbc.ca//photographer-quest-abandoned-cemeterie

A nearly 50-year employee of MPGC is the Chair of the Bereavement Authority of Toronto. "A value-for-money audit of the Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO), an agency founded four years ago that regulates licensed funeral homes, cemeteries, crematoriums and services that transfer the dead to places of interment, found that it must do a better job of requiring the industry to be transparent about pricing. "We were ... surprised by what we saw," [the Auditor General] said.... In a news release, the office of the auditor general said: "The audit concluded the BAO does not effectively protect people who are purchasing funeral services and products after a loved one has passed." https://www.cbc.ca//funeral-home-services-industry-auditor

A beautiful tribute to Toronto's Public Trust Cemeteries. Should have been required reading for the Court of Appeal! https://static.torontopubliclibrary.ca//16048300340628d.pdf

The Court of Appeal decided that 'Friends' and Kristyn Wong-Tam acted in the public interest. Reinstating accountability & transparency to 10 public cemeteries is not "NIMBY" or an "attack" or an effort to "pull apart" MPGC! Why does MPGC's President McClary continue to get it so wrong?... #willfulblindness #publicinterestlitigants #zeropersonalgain

In Kristyn Wong-Tam's op-ed in today's Toronto Star, she explains why she joined 'Friends' in the fight to keep 10 public cemeteries, "public". She is seeking leave with us, to the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in the hope that they are interested to hear this case. There are potential ramifications to all public, secular cemeteries - not just this group. The Public Guardian and Trustee (within the Ministry of the Attorney General) has also requested that the SCC hears this appeal. "The implications are profound: is it right that a charitable, publicly funded, cemetery trust can unilaterally declare itself to be a private enterprise? Should the basic right to safe and affordable burial of our dead, now become only for those who can afford it?" https://www.thestar.com//why-i-am-asking-the-supreme-court

Thank you to City Post magazines for the article outlining some reasons for Friends seeking leave to appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC). Just a few corrections: 1) Friends is not just fighting for greater public involvement in the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries (MPGC). MPGC was created as a public cemetery that was paid for by the public, and was to be run as trust, by the public. ... 2) The article makes no mention of the finding of the Court of Appeal that the statutory trust continues to exist, one of the most important results of the decision. 3) The article states that MPGC, as of 2014, was sitting on close to half a million dollars in funds. In fact, MPGC is now sitting on over a quarter billion dollars in cash which is over and above the $453,663,000 in their ‘care and maintenance fund’. https://trnto.com/mount-pleasant-cemetery-supreme-court/

Article published by the Centre for Public Legal Education in Alberta. Written by Peter Broder, Policy Analyst and General Counsel at The Muttart Foundation in Edmonton, Alberta. https://www.lawnow.org/not-for-profit-charity-and-non-prof/

We have been quiet, but have not gone away! We have been busily working on our application to the Supreme Court of Canada with Kristyn Wong-Tam. The Court of Appeal decided that public cemeteries no longer necessarily serve a public purpose with wide ranging ramifications to the public. If public cemeteries no longer serve a charitable purpose and can be converted into private businesses, with burials placed out of the realm of all but a fortunate few, then what are we to do ...with our dead? The Court of Appeal decision also means that every village and town across Canada except Toronto has a municipal or not-for-profit charitable cemetery where its citizens can safely and affordably bury their dead: which was the reason for MPGC's creation in the first place! In a civilized society the government has an obligation to provide its citizens with essential public services like education, health care, and a safe, hygienic and affordable place to bury their dead. It is for these reasons that we are seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.