Strike continues at cemetery
The strike continues at Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery. CTV leads here with sad families unable to visit graves, but at least also summarizes the labour issue.
People should get a grip. The strike is about working people making a living, and “living” is the key word here. “There were people that had come from France to see their loved one” is just melodrama. Their loved one is six feet under, they’re not going to see anyone. Priority should be for the living.
steph 12:08 on 2023-03-05 Permalink
Are Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery maintenance fees paid upfront for perpetuity, or is it a yearly fee? I assume if it’s the first, client families can start suing. If is’ the second, I suppose they’re in a budget shortfall (who would pay for services not rendered)
Kate 13:14 on 2023-03-05 Permalink
I have a receipt somewhere from the 1940s made out to my grandfather for maintenance in perpetuity on his family grave in NDN. His mother’s father had bought the plot in the 19th century so my great‑great‑grandparents are in it, as is my great‑grandmother, and later my grandfather and grandmother were buried there, as were other connections of his family, and eventually my father and mother.
Someone mows the whole area throughout the summer, so I suppose they’re still fulfilling the deal, although – as you suggest – it’s not a very sustainable business model. They mow the cemetery generally – it wouldn’t work to mow most of the graves in an area but deliberately not mow specific ones which had not signed a deal. I haven’t seen anything like that happening.
On the other hand, I’ve seen tombstones wrapped in plastic with a notice pinned on them saying the graves are going to be removed, but it’s not clear why. These are not the temporary graves, either, so I don’t know what the situation is.
I’m the last person in town to be connected to the people in that grave, but I don’t think NDN has records linking it to me. I don’t know whether they’d come after me for a fee, or if I risk losing the plot eventually if not, but I could wave my grandfather’s receipt at them if they did. Perpetuity is a very long time.
steph 13:39 on 2023-03-05 Permalink
Perpetuity is not “eternal”; it is limited to 100 years by the Civil Code of Québec since 1994 (1995?). on the NDdN cemetery site ( https://www.cimetierenotredamedesneiges.ca/en/regulations ) ” The funerary sites are conceded for a fixed period not exceeding 100 years.”
Kate 15:44 on 2023-03-05 Permalink
Thanks for the details. I doubt they’ll dig up great-great-grand-dad right away, he was buried in 1878, and he was still there last I looked. But they might get antsy once my grandfather’s arrangement runs out.
walkerp 10:18 on 2023-03-06 Permalink
Is this a deliberate tactic of the strike to not let people in?
Kate 10:23 on 2023-03-06 Permalink
Can’t tell. I don’t think the workers would be legally allowed to lock the place up, but maybe management is taking the position that it’s unsafe if the roads have not been plowed?
Or they could be simply trying to get public opinion on side by locking everyone out and telling the media.
Julius 23:14 on 2023-03-25 Permalink
Kate etc… if you don’t know what you are talking about, don’t write anything. Who are you to judge what people need as comfort
Kate 08:58 on 2023-03-26 Permalink
I do know my ancestors are buried there and if they had their choice, they’d stand with the workers.