Calls for federal money to help address overcrowded morgues

This storage container in St. John’s is filled with bodies. That’s because the main morgue is full. Some of them are seniors who didn’t have the money to pay for their funerals and whose families couldn’t pick up the expenses. Now advocates want to see change identity of your life. When your income is about $1600, there’s not much you can do to save 4 or $6000 in order to. Die in Dignity and Be Buried, Mohammed Abdullah’s senior support organization can’t legally claim bodies or arrange for Funeral services. Which means many of their clients can end up in one of those freezers permanently. It is a big concern, and I didn’t think it was that big that we have actually freezers outside of the hospital. I was appalled when I heard that families in Newfoundland and Labrador on income support can get up to $2300 to help with cremation or burial costs. That figure hasn’t changed in nearly two decades. On the federal level, the Canada Pension Plan Death Benefit is a one time payment of $2500 to the estate or family, but that figure hasn’t changed since 1998. Other provinces are facing a similar situation. Ontario, for example, has seen a 170% increase in unclaimed bodies since 2019. The national advocacy group Funeral Service Association of Canada says it’s time to fix that problem. The conversations that the Funeral Service Association of Canada has has tried to have over the years with the federal government has fallen on deaf ears. Really. Jeff Weaver says funeral costs can range from 2000 all the way up to $12,000. Advocates hope Tuesday’s federal budget will address some of their concerns. In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson from the Department of Finance says they can’t comment either way. Any amendments to the CPP, which is a form of support, will have to be done in conjunction with the provinces. Mike Moore, CBC News, Saint John’s.