Human skeletal remains found at Kitchener construction site

Skeletal remains have been located at a construction site in Kitchener.

The remains were found on Wednesday in the area of Church Street and Benton Street.

"During the excavation at a construction site, workers located the remains and contacted the police," the Waterloo Regional Police Service said in a media release Thursday morning.

Officers were on scene along with aforensic anthropologist and the Office of the Chief Coroner.

"Through the investigation, it was determined the body was placed there by no suspicious or criminal actions," police said.

As such, theMinistry of Public Health and Business Service Delivery and Procurement is now dealing with the remains.

The ministry's website notes it administers cemetery closures, cemetery abandonment, war graves and burial sites and ensures human remains found outside cemeteries "are treated with dignity and respect."

On Friday, a spokesperson for the ministry confirmed they are aware of the discovery.

They note that if no foul play is suspected, then the coroner will inform the Registrar of Burial Sites, which is responsible for administering legislation that deals with burial sites.

At that point, "the person who owns the land in which the human remains were discovered has certain rights and obligations under the [Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services] Act," the ministry said in an emailed statement.

"This includes the duty to take whatever steps are necessary to preserve the site until the remains have been reinterred in a local cemetery, or in a cemetery that has been established at or near the site, in accordance with the Act," the email said.

The ministry adds that the landowner may have to do an investigation of the site by a licensed archaeologist.