NOTICE

MUNICIPALITY OF ARRAN-ELDERSLIE

The Municipality of Arran-Elderslie is submitting a by-law to the Registrar of the Cemeteries Act (Revised) for the following active cemeteries:

and the following inactive cemeteries:

Any interested parties may contact Clerk/CAO, Joan Albright, (519-363-3039) for information, or to make copies.  These by-laws are subject to the approval of the Registrar, Cemeteries Act (Revised).

Notice published in The Post November 21, 2008

Notice published on the website November 17, 2008

DRAFT BY-LAW

being a by-law to amend the Municipal Code (operate cemeteries)

WHEREAS it is deemed advisable to amend the Municipal Code;

NOW THEREFORE The Corporation of the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie hereby enacts as follows:

1.         That Schedule E - Health Services, Cemeteries:  Operations, be added as follows: 

"Schedule  E - Health Services

Cemeteries:  Operations

being a by-law to provide for the operation of municipal cemeteries

WHEREAS Section 50 of The Cemeteries Act, (Revised) R.S.O. 1990, Chapter C.4, provides that,

50.  (1)  No person shall operate a cemetery or crematorium except in accordance with the by-laws applying to that cemetery or crematorium.

(2)  An owner of a cemetery or crematorium may make by-laws affecting the operation of the cemetery or crematorium.";

AND WHEREAS it is deemed expedient to provide for the operation of all cemeteries belonging to The Corporation of the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie;

NOW THEREFORE The Corporation of the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie hereby enacts as follows:      

1.         DEFINITIONS

In this by-law,

“Act” shall mean The Cemeteries Act, (Revised) R.S.O. 1990 Chapter C.4

“Care and Maintenance Fund” shall mean a trust fund established in accordance with the Act, the proceeds from which are to be used to provide for the upkeep of the Cemetery and the markers and structures therein in the prescribed manner

“cemetery” means the following active cemeteries under the care and control of the Municipality:

and the following inactive cemeteries under the care and control of the Municipality:

“cemetery services” means,

(a) in respect of a lot,

(i) opening and closing of a grave,

(ii) interring or disinterring human remains,

(iii) providing temporary storage in a receiving vault,

(iv) construction of a foundation for a marker,

(v) setting of corner posts,

(vi) providing,

(a) carrying and lowering devices, and

(c) ground cover,

for an interment service, and

(vii) preparing flower beds and planting flowers and shrubs,

 “cemetery supplies” includes interment vaults, markers, flowers, liners, urns, shrubs and artificial wreaths and other articles intended to be placed in a cemetery;

“certificate of interment rights” shall mean the certificate as set out in Schedule C to this by-law, issued by the owner to the purchaser of interment rights, and the said certificate shall be signed by an officer of the owner and the corporate seal shall be affixed thereto;

“contract” shall mean a contract for the purchase of interment rights, as set out in Schedule B to this by-law, issued by the owner and signed by both the purchaser and an officer of the owner and/or a contract for the purchase of cemetery services/supplies, as set out in Schedule B to this by-law signed by both parties;

“corner post” shall mean any stone or other marker set flush with the surface of the ground and used to indicate the corners of a lot;

“deed” shall mean a certificate of interment rights as previously issued by the owner;

“human remains” means a dead human body and includes a cremated human body;

“inter” means the burial of human remains and includes the placing of human remains in a lot;

“interment rights” includes the right to require or direct the interment of human remains in a lot;

“interment rights holder” means a person with interment rights with respect to a lot and includes a purchaser of interment rights under the Act;

“liner” shall mean a cement outer box/vault with sectional cement lids, that do not seal;

“lot” means an area of land in the cemetery containing, or set aside to contain, human remains;

“marker” means any monument, tombstone, plaque, headstone, cornerstone, or other structure or ornament affixed to or intended to be affixed to a burial lot, mausoleum crypt, columbarium niche or other structure or place intended for the deposit of human remains;

“Minister” means the Minister of Small Business and Consumer Services Cemeteries Regulation Unit, or its successor;

"Municipality" means The Corporation of the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie;

“monument” shall mean any permanent memorial projecting above the ground level;

“owner” means The Corporation of the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie;

“plan” shall mean the plan of the Cemetery, approved by the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services for Ontario, or its predecessor, or successor, Ministry;

“plot” means two or more lots in which the rights to inter have been sold as a unit;

“pre-need supplies or services” means cemetery supplies or services that are not required to be provided until the death of a person alive at the time the arrangements are made;

“Registrar” means the Registrar appointed under this Act;

"Superintendant" means the Foreman assigned to a particular cemetery by the Municipality

“transfer” means to make a gift, bequest or other transfer of an interment right without consideration;

“Treasurer” means the Treasurer of the Municipality;

“trust fund” means the Care and Maintenance Fund established for the purpose of this Act;

“vault” means a cement vault with a one piece self sealing top;

2.         GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

1. The Treasurer shall keep such books, accounts, registers and records as are necessary for properly recording all cemetery transactions in accordance with the Act and as directed by the Owner, and shall carry out the provisions of this by-law pertaining to administrative requirements.
2. All payments for interment rights and cemetery services shall by made at the Municipal Office, Box 70, 1925 Bruce Road 10, Chesley, Ontario, N0G 1L0
3. All fees shall be in accordance with Schedule "A" attached hereto and forming a part of this by-law.
4. The following information shall be provided for prospective purchasers of interment rights or of cemetery services before the owner and the purchaser enter into a sales contract:

a)      details of all costs, incidental to the sale and a statement of total amount payable, including all applicable taxes by the prospective purchaser for the proposed sale

b)      the location of the interment rights in the Cemetery as agreed upon by the prospective purchaser and the Superintendent.

5. The costs of interment rights and cemetery services shall be provided to persons making inquiries in person or by telephone.
6. A public register shall be available for inspection without charge containing the following information:

a)      the name and address of each interment rights holder and the location of the lot to which the rights pertain.

b)      the name and address of each original purchaser of interment rights that have been transferred to another person and the date on which the rights were transferred.

c)      the name of each person whose remains are interred in the Cemetery, the location of the lot in which the remains are interred and the date on which the remains were interred.

d)      the particulars of each disinterment of remains, including the name of the person who requested the disinterment, the date on which the remains were disinterred and the location in which the remains were reinterred.

e)      exception noted: not all records are available pertaining to certain burials which predate this by-law.

f)        remains to be interred upon receiving written instructions from a welfare administrator shall be located in the area of the Cemetery designated for that purpose.

3.         CARE AND MAINTENANCE FUND

1. The Care and Maintenance Fund shall be administered in accordance with the Act.
2. Deposits into the Fund shall be as follows:

a)      in the case of interment rights, the greater of 40 percent of the price set out in the Tariff or $150 per lot

b)      in the case of installing a marker measuring less than 173 square inches, the installer shall pay to the owner $0

c)      in the case of installing a marker measuring 173 square inches or more, the installer shall pay to the owner $50

d)      in the case of installing a monument measuring 4 feet or less in height, and 4 feet or less in length, including the base, the installer shall pay to the owner $100

e)      in the case of installing a monument measuring more than 4 feet in either height or length, including the base, the installer shall pay to the owner $200

4.         SALE OF INTERMENT RIGHTS

1. A contract, in accordance with the Act, as set out in Schedule B to this by-law, shall be entered into by a purchaser and the Owner.
2. The purchaser shall receive a copy of the contract and a copy of this by-law.
3. The fee, in accordance with Schedule A to this by-law, shall be paid in full at the time of sale.
4. Upon receiving payment in full, the owner shall issue to the purchaser a Certificate of Interment Rights, in accordance with the Act, as set out in Schedule C to this by-law.
5. In the case of pre-need cemetery services, the purchaser has the right to cancel the contract, by written notice to the Owner, within the thirty (30)-day period following the day the contract is made, and the Owner shall not supply the cemetery services until the expiry of the cancellation period.

5.         TRANSFER OF INTERMENT RIGHTS

1. It is a condition of every contract for the purchase of interment rights that, if a purchaser transfers an interment right, the purchaser shall give notice of the transfer to the Owner and return the original Certificate of Interment Rights to the Owner; and the Owner shall issue a new Certificate of Interment Rights to the Transferee.

6.         REPURCHASE OF INTERMENT RIGHTS

1. An interment rights holder may require, by written demand, the Owner to repurchase the rights at any time before they are used.
2. Within thirty (30) days of receiving the demand, the Owner shall repurchase the interment rights.
3. The repurchase of interment rights shall be determined by establishing the amount paid by the purchaser for the rights less the amount the Owner paid into the Care and Maintenance Fund, or if the Owner cannot, using reasonable efforts, determine the amount paid by the purchaser for the interment rights, the repurchase price is fifty dollars ($50).

7.         GENERAL MANAGEMENT

1. The general control and management of the cemetery shall be the responsibility of the Owner.
2. The care, maintenance and improvement of the cemetery shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent, who is the respective Works Manager, subject to the general control and management by the Owner.  The Superintendent shall have charge and authority over the cemetery and all the persons therein; including the responsibility for the supervision of employees engaged to carry out the aforementioned responsibilities that shall be under the Superintendent’s direction and be responsible to the Superintendent for performance of their duties.
3. The Superintendent shall carry out the provisions of this by-law pertaining to maintenance, management and control requirements.

8.         INTERMENTS AND DISINTERMENTS

1. No interments shall be permitted without the written consent of the interment rights holder or his/her legal representative.
2. No interment in or disinterment from any lot shall be permitted unless and until all outstanding charges against that lot have been paid.
3. The interment rights holder or his/her legal representative or the person arranging the funeral shall pay the interment charges to the Treasurer before the interment is to take place.
4. The Treasurer may request that payment of interment charges be made by certified cheque or money order.
5. The Superintendent or his representative shall be permitted until such time as proof of ownership, acceptable to the Superintendent has been submitted.
6. Notice of a proposed interment shall be given to the Superintendent at least forty-eight (48) hours before such interment is to take place.  The Superintendent may accept a shorter notice under special circumstances.
7. Before an interment can take place, there must be deposited with the Superintendent:

a)         A valid burial permit or certificate of cremation

b)         A copy of a receipt from the Treasurer for payment of all interment charges

c)         Written authorization from the interment rights holder or his/her legal representative: and

d)         A written statement setting out the deceased’s name, the last place of residence, age, place of death, date of death, the address of deceased’s nearest relatives, the date of interment, the location of the interment and the person arranging the funeral

8. If the person arranging the funeral has not paid the interment charges and so is unable to provide a copy of the receipt to the Superintendent, the Superintendent may still permit the interment to take place, providing the payment can not be made prior to the interment because of special or unusual circumstances.  In these circumstances payments shall be made to the Treasurer no later than seven days after the interment.
9. The Superintendent or the Owner shall not be responsible for any error occurring from want of precise and proper instructions regarding the location of any interment, nor where such instructions are not given in writing; any such erroneous instructions shall be the sole responsibility of the person or persons giving the same.
10. Regular interments or disinterments shall be Monday to Friday between the hours of 8 am and 4 pm.
11. Any interment or disinterment not complete by 4 pm Monday to Friday shall be subject to an additional fee as provided in the schedule of fees.
12. With the approval of the Superintendent, an interment may be on a Saturday, a Sunday or a statutory holiday provided it is completed by 12 noon subject to an additional fee as provided in the schedule of fees.
13. Any Saturday, Sunday or statutory holiday interment not complete by 12 noon shall be subject to another additional fee as provided in the schedule of fees.
14. All disinterments shall be authorized in writing by the Medical Officer of Health or Coroner on the official forms provided for the same by the Bruce, Grey, Owen Sound Health Unit and these shall also be signed by the interment rights holder or his/her legal representative giving permission for disinterment except as otherwise ordered by the Courts or as provided by the regulations in the Act.
15. No grave or vault shall be opened for interment or disinterment by any person not in the employ of the Owner except under special circumstances and by permission of the Owner.
16. Not more than one interment may be made in the same lot and not more than four cremations may be made in the same lot.
17. The interment fee includes the opening and closing of the grave, registration of the burial, earth cover and re-seeding.
18. Funeral corteges within the cemetery shall follow the route indicated by the Superintendent.
19. The setting up and removal of artificial grass, lowering devices and other interment accessories at an interment are the responsibility of the funeral director.
20. All funeral flowers and containers are to be removed from the site within seven days or the same will be removed by the cemetery staff.
21. Winter interment shall mean all interments between the fifteenth day of November in any year and the fifteenth day of April of the following year, with the permission of the Superintendent.
22. The Owner recommends the use of a concrete vault or liner for all interments to prevent shifting and settling.

9.         CARE OF LOTS

1. All lots in the cemetery shall be properly maintained by the Owner.
2. No lot or grave shall be defined or enclosed by a fence, railing, coping, hedge or any enclosure or markers, other than corner posts or markers level with the sod.  When any such enclosure heretofore erected around any lot which by reason of neglect or age has become unsightly or objectionable, the Owner may notify the interment rights holder, in writing, of the repairs deemed necessary to restore the enclosure to a satisfactory condition.  The notice shall specify that if the repairs are not carried out within thirty days the enclosure may be removed without further notice.
3. If any trees or shrubs situated on any lot have become by means of their roots, or branches or in any other way detrimental to the adjacent lots, drains, roads or walks, or prejudicial to the general appearance of the grounds or inconvenient to the public, the Superintendent may remove such trees or shrubs or parts thereof, after 30 days notice to the interment rights holder.
4. No hanging baskets over a lot will be permitted.  Hanging baskets over monuments will be permitted.  Flower beds not exceeding eighteen inches in width shall be permitted around the bases of monuments and where there is no monument, can only be made by permission of and under the supervision of the Superintendent.
5. Planting of borders around lots is prohibited.  Flower beds must be maintained by the interment rights holder.
6. No person shall do any work upon a burial lot without the permission of the Superintendent.
7. Annual plants only to be planted in the cemetery.  Flower beds shall be cleared after the first frost in autumn.  Interment rights holders desiring to take any plants away should do so before their removal becomes necessary.
8. Vases, urns and flower stands shall be such as not to interfere with the care of the lot, and if unsightly, may be removed or prohibited by the Superintendent.  Glass and ceramic containers are prohibited in the cemetery and will be removed by the Superintendent.
9. In order to preserve the proper appearance of the grounds, artificial flowers, wreaths, or any form of decorations are prohibited on lots from October 1^st in any year to April 1^st the following year.  If left by the interment rights holder, they may be removed and disposal made of them.
10. Rubbish shall not be thrown on roads, walks or any part of the grounds.
11. No interment rights holder shall change the grading of his lot, and in case of any such change, the Owner may restore the lot to its original grade at the expense of the interment rights holder.
12. No unauthorized person shall sod or move corner posts or grave markers.
13. The Owner shall not be responsible for loss of or damage to any articles upon any lot.

10.       MONUMENTS AND MARKERS

1. No monument, marker or other structure shall be erected or permitted on a lot until all accrued charges against that lot have been paid in full.
2. Corner posts and markers shall be dressed on the upper surface and level with the ground, and shall be placed under the supervision of the Superintendent.
3. Stones and monuments shall be free from visible defects with respect to quality or endurance and no tablet, monument or other structure composed in whole or in part of wood or iron shall be erected.  All bases of monuments must be level on the bottom and the stonework next to the foundation shall have the surface squared, so as to allow full bearing upon the foundation, and no building up or underpinning with chips or other material will be allowed.
4. Foundations of monuments shall extend not less than five feet below the surface of the ground, shall be level on the top and constructed of concrete by the Dealer erecting the monument.  No monument shall cover more than ten per cent of the total area of the lot or lots on which it is erected.  The perimeter of the top of the foundation must be 3” greater than that of the area of the base of the monument and be level with the surface of the ground.  Any slabs or markers used shall be placed flat and sunk into the ground so that the upper surface shall be level with the sod.
5. Not more than one monument shall be erected on any lot and this must be placed in the space reserved for it unless special permission is given by the Owner for placing it otherwise.
6. No monument shall be erected or removed without the supervision of the Superintendent, nor, between the fifteenth day of October in any year and the first day of May in the following year, without advising the Owner.
7. No inscription shall be placed on any monument which is not in keeping with the dignity and decorum of the cemetery.
8. No materials for construction or erection of monuments or markers shall be brought into the cemetery until required for immediate use, or placed on any other lots without special permission.
9. The dimensions and particulars of the required foundation of a monument shall be submitted in writing to the Superintendent for his approval, before erection or placing of the monument, so that the foundation may be properly constructed.
10. In accordance with Section 38 of the Cemetery Act and Regulations, a prescribed amount shall be paid into the Care and Maintenance Fund of the Cemetery upon installation of a marker.  The prescribed fees are set out in Schedule “A” attached to this by-law.
11. In accordance with Section 48 of the Cemetery Act and Regulations, if a marker in the cemetery presents a risk to public safety because it is unstable, the Owner shall do whatever is necessary by way of repairing, resetting or laying down the marker so as to remove the risk.

11.       RULES FOR MONUMENT DEALERS, CONTRACTORS AND WORKMEN

1. Every contractor employed to do any work in the cemetery shall first present an application to the Superintendent signed by the interment rights holder, or his/her legal representative, requesting permission to employ such contractor to do the work therein specified.  This application shall designate the section and lot.
2. The demeanor and behaviour of all workmen in any capacity within the cemetery shall be subject to the direction and control of the Superintendent.
3. Contractors, masons and stone-cutters shall lay planks on the lots and paths over which heavy materials are to be moved, in order to protect the surface from damage.
4. Workmen shall cease work, in the immediate vicinity of a funeral, until the conclusion of the service.
5. All work must be done during regular cemetery hours, unless by special permission of the Owner.
6. No work shall be commenced on Saturday that cannot be finished, and the litter and debris removed by noon of that day, unless by special permission.
7. Heavy loads shall not be permitted in the cemetery when the roads are in an unfit condition.
8. No monumental work shall be delivered to the cemetery until the foundation is completed and the contractor is ready to proceed with the work of erection.
9. All implements and materials used in the performance of any work shall be placed where the Superintendent may direct, and all rubbish and surplus earth shall be removed in such manner and at such time and to such place as the Superintendent may order.  Otherwise, the obstructions will be removed and expense charged to the interment rights holder.
10. Any workmen who damages any lot, stone or monument or other structure, or otherwise does any damage in the cemetery, shall be personally responsible for such damage or injury, and in addition thereto, his employer shall be liable therefore.

12.       RULES FOR VISITORS

1. Visitors are always welcome at the cemeteries during the open hours from eight a.m. to sundown.  Visitors are asked to remember the respect due to the dead.
2. No person shall trespass in a cemetery after sundown or before 8 am local time.
3. No person shall organize or conduct a parade, other than a funeral procession, within the cemetery.
4. No children under the age of twelve years shall be admitted to the grounds except in the charge of an adult, who shall be responsible for their good conduct and shall see that they do not run over lots and graves or cause damage to monuments.
5. No person shall permit any animal, being a dog, goat, or cattle, within the limits of the cemetery.
6. No person shall operate a motor vehicle in a cemetery at a rate of speed exceeding the posted limit.
7. No person shall operate a motor vehicle in a cemetery except on the avenues.
8. No person shall operate a motor vehicle in a cemetery in a manner that damages any monuments, any plant material including sod, any avenue, any fences, any gates or any equipment belonging to the Owner.
9. Owners of vehicles and their drivers shall be held responsible for any damage done by said vehicle.
10. No person shall discharge a firearm in a cemetery, other than in regular volleys at military burial services.
11. No person shall hold any gathering of people for picnics, parties, or any other group of people who are not attending burial or memorial services as approved by the Owner, in the cemetery.
12. No person shall remove or damage any vegetation, (including flowers, trees and shrubs), or artificial plants or decorations from a cemetery without the prior approval of the Owner.
13. No person shall remove or damage any monument, fence or other structure erected in or belonging to the cemetery, including writing upon, defacing or painting said structures.
14. No person shall make any paths or short cuts across any part of the cemetery.
15. Any complaints by interment rights holders or visitors should be made to the Superintendent and not to the workmen on the grounds and controversies with workmen or others on the grounds are to be avoided.
16. No person shall cause a disturbance of the quiet and good order of the cemetery by noise or other improper conduct.
17. Any person who violates these rules, may be expelled from the grounds.

13.       OTHER

1. The Tariff of Fees and Services shall be those as shown in Schedule A attached hereto and forming part of this by-law.
2. The Contract for the Purchase of Interment Rights and/or Cemetery Services shall be as shown in Schedule B attached hereto and forming part of this by-law.
3. The Certificate of Interment Rights shall be as shown in Schedule C attached hereto and forming part of this by-law.

14.       ADMINISTRATION & ENFORCEMENT

1. That the Treasurer shall be responsible for the administration of this By-law.
2. That the Works Manager or any provincial offences officer of the Municipality, shall be responsible for the enforcement of this By-law.

15.       LIABILITY FOR AN OFFENCE

1. That every person who contravenes any provision of this by-law commits an offence and upon conviction is liable to pay a fine recoverable under the provisions of Part 1 of the Provincial Offences Act, as amended.

16.       That, having received draft pre-approval from the Registrar, of the Cemeteries Branch of the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services on ________________________, this by-law shall take effect and come into force with final passing."

2.         And that this by-law shall take effect with final passing.

 SCHEDULE A TO BY-LAW NO. 

TARIFF OF CEMETERY FEES AND SERVICE CHARGES