Funeral Services Law Quirks BC consumers and businesses”

Consumer Protection BC is a not-for-profit

corporation in British Columbia that:

• Delivers consumer protection services in BC,

• Promotes fairness & understanding in the marketplace, and

• Enforces BC’s consumer protection laws.

Who are we?

What do we do?

We protect consumers and encourage fair business

practices by:

• Responding to inquiries and complaints from BC consumers and businesses;

• Educating consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities;

• Licensing and inspecting specific industries;• Investigating alleged violations of consumer protection laws;• Classifying general release films for BC and Saskatchewan; and• Recommending enhancements to BC's consumer protection laws to

the provincial government.

We license and regulate the cremation, interment & funeral services in BC. The

following slides will cover some interesting situations and legal requirements about this

industry.

This information will benefit industry professionalsand may be of interest to consumers.

What do we do?

BC’s Cremation, Interment and Funeral Services Act

(CIFSA) covers:

• Control of disposition• Authorization before funeral services or

disposition• Written preference• Licensed and unlicensed activity

Quirky Situation #1: The Scenario

The funeral home is contacted by the hospital to remove the remains of a deceased.

The funeral home attempts to contact the executor of the Will but finds out the individual is away on vacation and will return in 2 weeks time.

What happens?

Quirky Situation #1: The Law

CIFSA Section 5(2) – Control of Disposition of Human or Cremated Remains

If the person at the top of the order of priority set out in subsection (1) is unavailable or unwilling to give instructions, the right to give instructions passes to the person who is next in priority.

Quirky Situation #1: The Response

The funeral home should:• Attempt to contact the executor and document the

results.• If they are contacted, ask how to proceed or wait;• If they are not available, and if other family members

are present or there is another factor which requires immediate disposition, proceed to the next person in order.

• If the executor is not available and there is no other person in the order, then wait until return of executor and proceed with arrangements.

Quirky Situation #2: The Scenario

A member of your community who was an avid mountaineer has died. The family has enquired whether or not it would be possible to scatter the cremated remains at the top of a popular local mountain.

Can they do this?

Quirky Situation #2: The Law

CIFSA Section 4 – Prohibitions on improper disposition of human remains

Subject to the regulations, a person must not dispose of human remains at any place in British Columbia other than

(b) by cremation in a crematorium

Quirky Situation #2: The Response

• Cremation is final disposition.• As cremated remains pose no health hazard, there is no law governing their final disposition other than it be consistent with the written preference of the deceased and that they are released to the person with control of disposition.

• The public should know that the disposal of cremated remains on private or public property should be cleared with the land owner or the local government that oversees those lands.

Quirky Situation #3: The Scenario

The funeral home is contacted by the person with control of disposition and requests that the funeral director remove the deceased from the hospital.

Can the funeral home proceed with the transfer having only a verbal authorization?

Quirky Situation #3: The Law

CIFSA Section 8(2) – Requirement for authorization before funeral services or disposition

(2)  Despite subsection (1), a funeral provider may accept an authorization by telephone to begin funeral services if the funeral provider does not dispose of the human remains until the funeral provider receives the written authorization required by subsection (1).

Quirky Situation #3: The Response

• The funeral home can transfer the remains if they have received verbal authorization from the person with the right to control disposition

• The funeral home must then make arrangements with the person in control of disposition to physically sign the funeral contract which includes the authorization to provide other funeral services and to cremate or bury the deceased.

Quirky Situation #4: The Scenario

A family wants to bury their father on the ten-acre parcel of land on the boundary of town where he has lived since birth.

Can this be done?

Quirky Situation #4: The Law

CIFSA Section 4 – Prohibitions on improper disposition of human remains

Subject to the regulations, a person must not dispose of human remains at any place in British Columbia other than:

(a) by interment in or on land against which there is a certificate of public interest registered,

(b) by cremation in a crematorium, or

(c) by interment in or on crown land that is reserved under the Land Act for interment purposes.

Quirky Situation #4: The Response

• Burial is only allowed in land against which there is a Certificate of Public Interest registered.

• This means that any land used for burial must be designated as a cemetery or a place of interment.

• Anyone wishing to do this would be required to go through a designation process and would likely never be able to sell or otherwise encumber the cemetery.

• If they did sell the land around the cemetery in the future, they would then have to negotiate access rights to the cemetery with the new owner.

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www.consumerprotectionbc.ca