Cremation in Canada continue to be more common each year

Rod Krushel, owner and funeral director at Cook Southland Funeral Chapel, said in Medicine Hat he has seen that number as high as over 80 per cent.

“I’ve been in funeral service for 32 years, and cremation has certainly become more prevalent in our community, and throughout the western provinces, and Canada in general,” Krushel said.

Chris Martin Jong, president and a fourth generation funeral director at Pattison Funeral Home, said there are a lot of different demographics that will vary the numbers at each funeral home.

“We probably serve about 65 to 70 per cent cremation, probably more around 65 per cent cremation and other funeral homes will service up to 100 per cent cremation,” Martin Jong said.

“It just really depends on your background, your feeling as a family, sometimes religious beliefs, and what you’re used to seeing within your family traditions.”

The cremation trend has increased the lifespan of cemetaries across the country, with less space occupied by caskets.

“If we look at all the cemeteries throughout North America, they are taking space, but a lot of times now, those are green spaces that are kept away from development and things like that,” De Jong said.

“People are finding a lot of solace in those park like settings, and being able to go there and kind of reach back and connect with their community and see different names that correlate with streets that it might be downtown or within the city,” he added.

“People that were pillars in the community, and being able to go and see those places and have those spaces is still important too.”

Krushel said there is importance to finding a permanent place for cremated remains.

“In general, people do need a place to go to remember their loved one,” Krushel said.

“However, that being said, some families will keep the cremated remains at home for home placement, they will scatter them, and then some will place them into the cemetery or the columbarium.”

Martin Jong said cremation provides lots of options with lots of choices for urns.

“You don’t necessarily always need an urn if you’re going to be scattering,” Martin Jong said.

“Some people are doing things like placing their ashes into diamonds now or having tattoos made with them. So there is a wide variety of ways to memorialize your loved one.”

Martin Jong said he is a proponent of having a place to go to say goodbye, but not everyone feels that way.

“I think that whether you choose burial or cremation, it’s just what’s important for your family, what values you have, what you’ve seen before,” Martin Jong said.

“There really is no right or wrong. It’s just important to take time when somebody passes away and feel those feelings and have that family and support system and friends around in a place to do that.”

Krushel said he often finds there is a common misconception when it comes to cremation.

“One of the questions that we get asked is, when someone is going to be cremated, they feel that they can’t have a formal viewing or have an opportunity to say goodbye, and that is a myth,” Krushel said.

“Families have the choice to do whatever they might want prior to the cremation taking place.”

Krushel adds it’s important to know that cremation doesn’t take the place of a service, and that families still need to have closure in doing what they do to honour someones life, which is why they created their new facility called Reflections.

“A neutral facility that will have families come together as a space that they can use so that they can still honour someone’s life in a dignified and respectful manner,” Krushel said.

by Jesse Gill

Cremation in Canada continue to be more common each year

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