In 2022, the Wardens of St. John’s Church, Frank de la Roche and Shelley McAlister, wrote to the County Clerk to note the congregation of St. John’s had voted to divest of the cemetery along with closing the church.

The cemetery license is currently held by the Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Ontario, where it landed after St. John’s Anglican Church deconsecrated in 2022. 

But municipalities in Ontario are required by the Funeral, Burial, and Cremation Services Act to accept responsibility for abandoned cemeteries within their jurisdiction. 

Although the Anglican church had historically operated the cemetery, upon investigation, the County discovered that the most recent deed to the property was held by Andrew Alan Kerr, dated 1881. Mr. Kerr has been buried in St. John’s since 1901. 

A resolution to officially transfer the title from the deceased owner to the County and the operating license from Diocese carried at the January 13th Council meeting. 

In 2021, the County began basic maintenance of the cemetery after complaints about poor upkeep. Active cemeteries are overseen by the Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO), and municipalities are required to intervene in cases of neglect. 

Council and staff are exploring ways to financially prepare to care for this cemetery and any others that might devolve to the municipality. 

For active cemeteries, there is revenue from plot sales. However, “selling a few plots is not going to change the fact that it costs us a fortune to maintain cemeteries, and it’s been neglected,” said Councillor John Hirsch.

“We have absolutely no choice, the way the province has set this up,” he added. 

The BAO requires active cemeteries to keep Care and Maintenance Funds, a portion of sales from graves, mausoleums, and scattering grounds. 

These funds, “should transfer over to the municipality in the event we are saddled with the maintenance,” said Albert Paschkowiak, Environmental Services and Sustainability Supervisor. “I don’t believe that the money can just be kept by the original owner.”

In the case of St. John’s, along with many older cemeteries, contributions to the fund are scarce.

“That fund is down to a very small amount of money,” Councillor Hirsch confirmed. “We’re going to inherit that fund but there’s very little in it.”

Sandra Latchford, Chair of the Built and Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee, noted that while the province mandates municipalities assume responsibility for its cemeteries, it does not contribute any funding. 

“The smaller municipalities are trying to band together and pressure the province to give us some, even token, funding,” she noted. 

The Council resolution asks the Cemetery Task Team and BACHAC to prepare a forecast report on future liabilities and responsibilities relating to the County’s cemeteries. 

“What we want to get a handle on is how many are out there? What’s it going to take to manage them?” Mr. Paschkowiak said. “What do we anticipate in the next few years?”