Waterloo crematorium could be shut down, putting affordable services in jeopardy
City would need to invest large funds, extend operation hours to compete with private sector
Waterloo's Parkview Cemetery's crematorium is in need of major renovations and upgrades that could cost the city $3.2 million and now the city is asking for the public's input on whether it should keep the facility open.
The crematorium is on cemetery grounds and has acted as a source of revenue for the past 42 years, allowing Parkview to operate without the need of tax-base support.
The cost of repairs would include two new retorts, the place where the body is placed, an accessible viewing area, an elevator and a new cooler.
The city is asking for public feedback on the Engage Waterloo website. It wants to know whether residents want the city to invest in the renovations and keep it operational, or to wind down cremation services and repurpose the building to create an interior niche space similar to those at the Williamsburg Cemetery in Kitchener and Woodlawn Cemetery in Guelph.
"Interior niches are essentially a columbarium, which is located inside," Jeff Silcox-Childs, director of parks and services for the City of Waterloo, said in an email to CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.
"A columbarium is a collection of niches usually stacked for the purpose of holding cremated remains (burial urns)."
Competing with private crematoriums
Parkview Cemetery has seen a steady decline in the number of cremations since 2012, the year the province changed legislation to allow crematoriums to be operated privately.
Of the 79 licensed crematoriums in Ontario, four are municipally owned, the city said.
"Two others are in process of considering other options to no longer operate the crematoriums themselves as are we," Silcox-Childs said.
Waterloo has no privately owned crematoriums, he adds.
On average, Parkview does 1,300 cremations every year, but the crematorium has also lost 10 funeral home providers and has seen a 20 percent decrease on the number of cremations done annually.
To compete with privately owned crematorium businesses, the city would need to invest significant funds into Parkview and extend its hours of operations to six days a week.
City staff plan to return to council in the fall with recommendations once the public engagement process is compete, Silcox-Childs said.
There will be an information session on June 27 at the Parkview Chapel from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.