Big 2019 Wins for Family-Led Deathcare in Ontario – Part 2!

By Adriane Weller

Feb 8, 2020

Community Deathcare Canada’s Legislative Committee’s Ontario working group (CDC-ON) continued to achieve exciting things for Ontario Family-Led Deathcare (FLDC) and Green Burial (GB) in the second half of 2019!

CDC-ON continued to attend quarterly meetings with the Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO) in September and November.
CDC-ON worked further with the BAO to include FLDC and GB in BAO resources for Ontarians:
- Dedicated FLDC webpage on BAO website
- Inclusion of suggested FLDC and GB resources, including CDC, within BAO Resources Directory
BAO continued to speak to and clarify FLDC and GB for Ontario consumers and Death Service providers:
- Sep 23rd Notice to the Profession Section 4
- Nov 4th Facebook Post on Family-Led Death Care
- Dec 17th Facebook Post on Green Burial
CDC-ON was invited to present a FLDC & GB Lunch and Learn to the BAO. This 90-minute presentation was given Nov 5th, was attended by 20 staff, and was very well-received. In-depth curated resources were provided.
CDC-ON successfully achieved updates to ServiceOntario Death Care webpages that now provide direct statements on FLDC and links for families to obtain Cremation Certificates from the Chief Coroner.
- What to do when someone dies Sections 3, 4 and 5
- Arrange a funeral, burial, cremation or scattering Section 3 If you don’t use a provider
CDC-ON was approached by an Oregon FLDC advocate regarding their desire to use the page 8 chart in the new BAO Guide to Death Care in Ontario as a template to describe and share FLDC rights in Oregon. The BAO kindly provided permission and a similar chart is now on their Oregon FLDC website.
CDC-ON hosted a table on FLDC at the Modern Death Expo (Swan Song Event) in Elora on Oct 19th
CDC-ON continued an extensive and ongoing survey of crematories in Ontario, regarding their cooperation with FLDC. The final results of this survey will be presented to the BAO in early 2020.