What’s the best way to use land at cemeteries? OACFP says it’s running out

The Ontario Association of Cemetery and Funeral Professionals (OACFP) is in Windsor this week for its annual conference and trade show.

"Opportunities like this, this conference and trade show, brings us all together to provide us an opportunity to collaborate and to figure out how we can have the greatest impact on the communities or the families we serve," said OACFP President, Mark Richardson.

The theme this year is “Influence and Impact: Crafting your Brand”, but according to Richardson, the availability of new cemetery land is a hot topic on the trade show floor, as the bereavement industry looks ahead to the future.

"Land is at such a premium nowadays that to be able to develop a cemetery to sustain our practices, to be able to offer services to families, is becoming increasingly difficult,” said Richardson.

“So, we're looking to the government to help with that. To recognize that cemeteries require significant amounts of space, and that space is becoming less and less available."

The Ontario Association of Cemetery and Funeral Professionals conference and trade show at Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ont. on Oct. 8, 2024. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

Richardson, who is also the manager of cemetery services in the City of Niagara Falls, said larger urban centres, like Toronto and Niagara Falls, are running short on land, noting cemeteries rely on having land so they can offer full body interments along with cremation and scattering options.

"We're all looking at purchasing land. And again, I'm sure everyone can appreciate the value of the land has skyrocketed over the years,” he said.

“So that's a cost that is passed on to the cemetery and thereby the family as well."

While available land remains a concern amongst those throughout the industry, past president, John Perotta, said it's a bigger concern in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area.

Perotta said the OACFP is a unified association of bereavement sector professionals, providing a support network of education and resources.

"Land is at a sort of premium and our cemeteries are filling up," Perotta explained.

"So we are, as an organization, looking at ways to advocate for government to make easier to establish a cemetery because death is inevitable. We're going to need the land and it's one of our initiatives."

The Victoria Greenlawn Funeral Home and Cemetery seen in Oldcastle, Ont. on Oct. 8, 2024. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

Perotta suggested concern isn't as great in smaller communities like Windsor but notes it's still an issue that needs to be addressed.

"I would assume there's enough land maybe for the next 50, 75 years, but we have to think that eventually Windsor will get there."

Meantime, as Windsor prepares for growth with the new NextStar battery plant and new acute care hospital, other industry officials tell CTV News planning needs to take place to ensure there is enough space to properly accommodate a larger population.

"It's exciting times for Windsor being able to have those opportunities for jobs, to be able to come down and raise a family, start a family, continue raising your family within Windsor, knowing you have those opportunities,” stated Dustin Wright, vice president of communications and marketing at Arbor Memorial.

“And yes, we need to make sure that we have enough of the right funeral and cemetery solutions and availability for those families as they continue to age and the generations from now have a place that they can call a burial spot, a place that they can remember and honour their loved ones."

"If you've grown up and lived in a major city center, now you're in a position where you may not be able to be buried in the place where you grew up and lived and raised your family," Wright said. "You might have to go an hour, hour and a half north, south, east or west of the city in order to find burial space."

He continued, "so from a funeral and cemetery industry perspective, we're really trying to work with municipalities and provincial governments to try to make sure we're allocating enough land to be able to serve families now and generations to come. It's an interesting situation in Windsor because you have most of the cemeteries just outside the major city center. So, there's still opportunity in terms of how much the city's going to catch up in the population, but there are still limitations on those cemetery lands.”

"So, what's going to eventually happen is we're going to have to find more of it and find unique interment and burial solutions for families generations to come in Windsor. While it's not necessarily a direct problem today, it is one that's going to happen in the next generation or two. So, we want to have those conversations, learn from what we're seeing at big city centers across Canada, and try to find a way to work with the municipalities or provincial governments to start planning now for that future," Wright said.

The OACFP conference and trade show continues at Ceasars Windsor until Thursday.