Family struggles to find burial place for Quebec woman's tree urn

Relatives of a woman who died recentlyin the Abitibi-Tmiscamingue region in northwestern Quebec saythey cannot find a resting place to bury their loved one'sashes.

Hlne Blondin's remains were placed in a biodegradable urnthat contains the seed of a tree.

"We wanted to have something that would continue to grow because she gave so much to others," said Blondin's niece, Jose Larose.

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However, as is the case in mostcemeteries in Quebec, Blondin'sresidence of Rouyn-Noranda does not accept memorial tree urns in the 11 cemeteries it manages.

Larose said her uncle chose the tree urn for his sister, who had cerebral palsy.

"When I bought it, I was told they were not accepted in cemeteriesbut I thought I'd be able to figure something out,'' said Larose.

The City of Rouyn-Norandasays it was the first time authorities have received such a request and they had to turn it down.

''We're not completely opposed to the idea,"said administrative co-ordinator LisePaquet.

However, she says, the family's requestopened the door to many unanswered questions that need to be answered before moving forward.

''Who is responsible for the tree?What happens if it dies?Are the tree species native to the region?" said Paquet.

Paquet said a committee would need to look into the matter while also taking into consideration the space thetrees would eventually take up in cemeteries.

Popular trend

The urn the family bought is a European product byBios Urns. The companyArbre de Vie Qubechas been distributing them in Canada for the past three years.

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"People want to have an ecological option," said Arbrede VieQubec's co-founder, Isabel Cabana. "It meets a demand to move away from the traditional funeral process."

Cabana saidshe started the business with her boyfriend after his own father died.

"We went through the whole thing, the preparations for the funeral, and it was bad. It was very expensive, and it's just not what [his father] would have wanted."

Cabana saidsales have been steadily growing since they launchedthe company. They now sell about a dozen urns a month, she said.

Most of the company's clients decide to bury the urn onfamily land.

"In Quebec, I don't know of any cemeterythat accepts these urnsbecause when the tree grows it doesn't only grow on top, it grows on the bottom too and the roots can spread to other lots," Cabana explained.

ButLarose saidshe wasn't comfortable with burying the urn on personal property.

"My parents are nearly 70 years old and will eventually sell their house," she said."I don't want to visit my aunt in a stranger's backyard."

Ecological footprint in life and death

While there are still limitations to choosing memorial tree urns in Quebec, some cemeteries are taking notice of this shiftin people's last wishes.

In Sherbrooke, the Cooprative funraire de l'Estrie built a natural cemetery in a wooded area behind its main building.

"The only trace we leave behind is a small plate with the person's name and their dates of birth and death," said general managerFranois Fouquet.

In 2012, the funeral co-operativebuilt a trail through the trees. Biodegradable urns are buried on either side.

''It is very popular. People are more and moreconsciousof the mark they are leaving behind, and I think there is a lot of potential in these new models," said Fouquet.

Fouquet says hundreds of plots have already been sold, witha total capacity of nearly 8,000.

The natural cemetery doesn't accept tree urns either, because it wants to leave the forest in its natural state.

There is also an urns-onlynatural cemetery in Prvost, in the Laurentians, which opened in 2009.

New Quebec bill regulates ash scattering

In February, theQuebec government passed a bill to regulatewhere a deceased person's ashes can be scattered.

The bill requiresfuneral home workersto discuss with grieving families their plans for the remains of a loved one. It also limits certain places where remains can be scattered.