National Parks Cemetery Regulations

Regulations Respecting the Control and Management of Cemeteries in the National Parks of Canada His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, pursuant to subsection 7(1) of the National Parks Act, is pleased hereby to revoke the National Parks Cemetery Regulations, C.R.C., c. 1117, and to make the annexed Regulations respecting the control and management of cemeteries in the National Parks of Canada, in substitution therefor. These Regulations may be cited as the National Parks Cemetery Regulations. In these Regulations, ashes means cremated human remains; (cendres) available, in respect of a grave, means that a certificate has not been issued with respect to that grave; (disponible) Banff Cemetery[Revoked, SOR/90-235] Cape Breton Highlands Cemetery[Revoked, SOR/90-32, s. 1] Cavendish Cemetery[Revoked, SOR/90-32, s. 1] cemetery means a cemetery to which these Regulations apply; (cimetière) certificate means a certificate issued pursuant to section 8; (certificat) Field Cemetery means that part of Yoho National Park so designated and shown on a plan of survey of record in the Canada Lands Surveys Records of the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, Ottawa, as number 20590; (cimetière de Field) grave means an excavation in a cemetery plot for the burial of human remains or ashes; (tombe) holder of a certificate means a person to whom a certificate is issued and, where that person is deceased, means the estate of that person; (titulaire d’un certificat) immediate next of kin[Revoked, SOR/90-32, s. 1(E)] indigent means a person who before his death was a permanent resident of one or more parks for a period of at least 25 years in the aggregate and at some time lived in the park where the burial is to take place, or at the time of his death was a permanent resident of the park where the burial is to take place and whose financial means are not sufficient to cover the fees for burial; (personne indigente) Jasper Park Cemetery[Repealed, SOR/2010-23, s. 7] marker means a memorial of metal, stone or other similar material placed at the level of the surrounding ground at the foot of a grave; (dalle tombale) monument means a memorial of stone, marble or other similar material placed above the level of the surrounding ground at the head of a grave or plot; (monument) Mountain View Cemetery[Revoked, SOR/90-235] next of kin means the spouse and children of a deceased person; (plus proche parent) park[Repealed, SOR/96-477, s. 1] perpetual care means the preservation, improvement, embellishment and maintenance in perpetuity of a grave in a cemetery; (entretien permanent) plot means a numbered lot shown on the plan of survey of a cemetery, containing one or more graves; (terrain) Superintendent[Revoked, SOR/90-32, s. 1] tablet means a memorial of metal, stone or other similar material placed at the level of the surrounding ground at the head of a grave; (plaque) Waterton Cemetery means that part of Waterton Lakes National Park so designated and shown on a plan of survey of record in the Canada Lands Surveys Records of the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, Ottawa, as number 42297. (cimetière de Waterton) Waterton Park Cemetery[Revoked, SOR/90-32, s. 1] These Regulations apply to Field Cemetery and Waterton Cemetery. The superintendent may divide a cemetery into areas and may reserve an area for the burial of the remains of persons not more than one year of age; an area for the burial of ashes; and an area for the burial of the remains of persons who at anytime served with or were attached to the naval, army or air forces of Her Majesty or a power allied or associated with Her Majesty. The superintendent shall maintain a register for a cemetery in which shall be entered, in respect of each grave in the cemetery for which a certificate has been issued, the name and address of the person to whom the certificate was issued, the date of issue of the certificate and the amount paid therefor, the number of the certificate and such other particulars as the superintendent considers necessary; and in respect of each person whose remains or ashes are buried in a grave in the cemetery, his name, address prior to death, nationality, religion, age and sex, the name and address of the next of kin of the person or the nearest relative of the person, the date and cause of death, the name of the attending physician, the date of burial, and such other particulars as the superintendent considers necessary. No person shall use a plot or grave for any purpose other than for the burial of human remains or ashes. An application for a certificate shall be in Form A set out in Schedule II; and accompanied by the applicable fee. Where the superintendent receives an application that complies with the requirements of section 7 for a certificate for a grave and the applicant is applying for the certificate in respect of the burial of the remains or ashes of a person who before his death was a permanent resident of one or more parks for a period of at least 25 years in the aggregate and at sometime lived in the park where the burial is to take place, or at the time of his death was a permanent resident of the park where the burial is to take place, the applicant is applying for a certificate in respect of the burial of the remains or ashes of a person who is a next of kin of a person for whose remains or ashes a certificate has been issued under paragraph (a), and the person in respect of whose burial the application is made lived in one or more parks for a period of at least 25 years in the aggregate, or was, at the time of the death of the person described in paragraph (a), a permanent resident of the park where the burial is to take place, [Revoked, SOR/90-32, s. 4] the superintendent shall, if there are any available graves in the cemetery, select such a grave and issue a certificate to the applicant in respect of that grave in Form B set out in Schedule II. A certificate issued pursuant to subsection (1) is valid for 10 years and may be renewed once by the certificate holder at no additional charge for an additional period of 10 years. Where a certificate is issued on or after the date of the coming into force of these Regulations and in the case of a certificate that has not been renewed, no burial takes place in the grave before the expiration of a period of 10 years from the date of issue of the certificate, or in the case of a certificate that has been renewed in accordance with subsection 8(2), no burial takes place in the grave and a new application is not received before the expiration of the renewal period, the certificate becomes void on the day following the expiration of the initial period of 10 years or the renewal period, as the case may be, and the interest in that grave of any person named in the certificate is thereby terminated without compensation. Where a certificate was issued before the date of the coming into force of these Regulations and no burial takes place in the grave before the expiration of a period of 49 years from the date of issue of the certificate, the certificate becomes void on the day following the expiration of that period and the interest of any person in that grave is thereby terminated without compensation. The holder of a certificate issued pursuant to subsection 8(1) that has expired and may no longer be renewed may reacquire an interest in the grave for which the certificate was issued by submitting a new application therefor in accordance with section 7. No person, other than the superintendent, shall exchange, assign or subdivide any plot or grave. No person shall bury or cause to be buried any human remains or ashes in a grave unless he complies with the laws of the province in which the cemetery is located respecting cremation and the burial of human remains or ashes; he applies to the superintendent for authorization to bury the human remains or ashes; and the superintendent has authorized in writing the burial of the human remains or ashes and the opening of a grave therefor. Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(b), where the human remains or ashes are those of a person whose identity is unknown or who is an indigent, no application to the superintendent for the authorization referred to in paragraph (b) is required. An application referred to in paragraph 11(1)(b) shall be endorsed by the applicant on his own behalf or on behalf of the estate of the person whose remains or ashes are to be buried; and accompanied by the applicable fee and the authorization for burial or cremation that is required by the laws of the province in which the cemetery is located. The superintendent shall, on receipt of an application referred to in section 12, authorize in writing the burial of human remains or ashes in a grave and the opening of the grave for that purpose where the applicant is the holder of a certificate for that grave; or the person whose remains or ashes are to be buried was, at the time of his death, the holder of a certificate for that grave. The superintendent shall, on receipt of any authorization for burial or cremation required by the laws of the province in which the cemetery is located, authorize in writing the opening of a grave and burial of human remains or ashes where there is an available grave; and the person whose remains or ashes are to be buried is an indigent or his identity is unknown. No person shall bury or cause to be buried the ashes of a person in a grave that is less than 1 m below the surface of the ground surrounding the grave; the remains of a child one week old or less in a grave that is less than 1 m below the surface of the ground surrounding the grave; and any other human remains in a grave that is less than 2 m below the surface of the ground surrounding the grave. No person shall bury in one grave more than one person’s remains or ashes, except where the remains of a mother and her child one week old or less are buried at the same time; the ashes of not more than three persons are buried; or the remains of one person and the ashes of not more than two persons are buried. [Revoked, SOR/85-576, s. 2] Burial of ashes shall not be permitted during the period commencing on November 1 in any year and ending on April 30 in the following year. [Repealed, SOR/96-477, s. 5] No person shall, in a cemetery, plant any trees, shrubs, hedges, flowers, grass or other vegetation or construct, erect or place any foundation, fence, railing, curbing, monument, vault, mausoleum, tablet or other structure or do any other construction or any alteration work without written authorization from the superintendent to do so; on a Sunday or other holiday; between the hours of eight o’clock in the evening and eight o’clock in the morning; or within 30 m of any grave in which a burial is taking place. Paragraph (1)(a) does not apply to any person who, with the permission of the superintendent, does work in a cemetery that is necessary for the routine operation, maintenance, administration or use of the cemetery. Where the superintendent receives an application from the holder of a certificate for authorization to construct, erect or place a foundation, monument or tablet on the grave to which the certificate relates and the superintendent is satisfied that, based on the plans and specifications submitted to him with the application, the proposed foundation, monument or tablet complies with the requirements of section 22, he shall give written authorization to the holder of the certificate to do so. Where the planting of vegetation or the construction, erection or placing of a structure or any other construction or any alteration work is necessary for the operation, maintenance, administration or use of a cemetery, the superintendent may give written authorization to any person to do so. [Repealed, SOR/2010-23, s. 9] An application referred to in subsection 20(1) shall be accompanied by detailed plans and specifications; and a plan of the grave showing the location of the proposed foundation, monument or tablet. A monument or tablet authorized to be constructed, erected or placed pursuant to subsection 20(1) shall be confined within the limits of the grave in respect of which it is constructed, erected or placed and shall, where possible, be aligned with other monuments or tablets on adjoining graves. A monument or tablet shall be placed on a concrete foundation not less than 10 cm thick and not less than 10 cm wider or 10 cm longer than the base of the monument or tablet it supports. The foundation of a tablet shall be so placed that the top of the tablet is level with the surrounding ground. The area of a tablet shall not exceed in respect of a grave in which human remains are buried, .20 m2; or in respect of a grave in which ashes are buried, .10 m2. A monument shall not exceed 1 m in height above the level of the surrounding ground and shall be of such other dimensions and design as not to be, in the opinion of the superintendent, offensive to the majority of people visiting the cemetery. No person shall place an inscription on any marker, monument or tablet without the written approval of the superintendent. The superintendent shall not give his written approval for an inscription referred to in subsection (6) if, in his opinion, the inscription would be offensive to the majority of the people visiting the cemetery. Where any person constructs, erects or places any monument or tablet in a cemetery in a manner that fails to comply with section 19, 20 or 22, the superintendent may order the person, by notice in writing mailed to him at his last known address, to remove the monument or tablet. Where the monument or tablet referred to in subsection (1) has not been removed within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notice referred to in that subsection, the superintendent may remove it. Where the whereabouts of the person referred to in subsection (1) is unknown, the superintendent may, after taking reasonable steps to notify the person, remove the monument or tablet referred to in that subsection. No person shall exhume human remains or ashes from a cemetery without the written authorization of the superintendent. An application for the exhumation of human remains or ashes from a cemetery shall be made in writing to the superintendent and shall be accompanied by the applicable fee and any authorization for exhumation that is required by the laws of the province in which the cemetery is located. Where the superintendent receives an application that complies with the requirements of subsection (2) for the exhumation of human remains or ashes from a grave, he shall give written authorization to the applicant for that exhumation. No person shall place in a cemetery any stand, holder, vase or other receptacle for flowers or plants, or any ornament that is in a state of disrepair or is no longer suitable for the purpose for which it is intended to be used. The superintendent may remove from a cemetery any article referred to in subsection (1) and, if he does so, shall notify the holder of the certificate of the grave in respect of which the article was placed in the cemetery. No person shall take an animal into a cemetery. No person shall drive a vehicle over any area in a cemetery other than a driveway unless authorized by the superintendent. No person shall cover a grave with a slab of cement, crushed rock or other similar material. (name in full) (number and street) (town, city, etc.) (complete appropriate parts of sections 1, 2 and 3 and section 5)