Charlottetown cremation proposals get little feedback from public

Charlottetown residents haven't raised many concerns about the possibility of allowing cremations at funeral homes in the city.

Currently Belvedere Funeral Home is the only place in Charlottetown to offer cremations on-site.Hennessey CutcliffeCharlottetown Funeral Home recently applied to the city for permission to add a crematorium to its business, which prompted the city to look into changing its bylaws to allow cremations at all funeral homes.

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The public was invited to offer feedback on thatidea, as well as Hennessey Cutcliffe's specific request at a public meeting Wednesday evening. No one from the public or from council asked any questions or raised any concerns at the meeting.

Charlottetown city planner Jesse Morton said the planning committee did receive three letters from the public, two of which raised concerns.

"One individual it was an emission-based concern. The other individual didn't really state a concern. It wasn't emissions, I believe it was more just personal thought on end of life services," said Morton.

Hennessey Cutcliffe request

Kevin Gallant, owner of Hennessey Cutcliffe Charlottetown Funeral Home spoke at the public meeting to explain why he wants to add on-site cremation services to his business.

He said about 40 per cent of the families he serves opt for cremation, but he has to arrange to have it done off-site.

This is a normal part of funeral service today. And as trends change in funeral service, we have to change with these trends.- Kevin Gallant

"People seem to be more comfortable with the idea of these services being offered without having to transfer their loved one around to different locations," said Gallant.

He said the number of people who choose cremation "continues to rise yearly."

According to the Cremation Association of North America, about a third of families on P.E.I. choose cremation, up from eight per cent a decade ago.

"This is a normal part of funeral service today. And as trends change in funeral service, we have to change with these trends to meet the wishes of the families that we serve," said Gallant.

'Not overly concerned'

The request from Hennessey Cutcliffe prompted the city planning committee to look into changing a bylaw to allow for cremations on-site at any Charlottetown funeral home.

The current bylaw doesn't mention cremation in the definition of funeral establishments.

"The committee didn't see too many land-use impacts. They're not overly concerned with a cremator going in a funeral establishment," said Morton.

He added that if the bylaw is amended, individual crematoriumswould still need to be inspected and would need to meet provincial and federal regulations in order to be installed.

The next step is for the planning committee to meet again, and make a final recommendation to council, which will make the final decision.

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