City cemeteries dead set on new funds as urn niches run out

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This article was published 28/06/2023 (833 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MORE Winnipeggers are seeking a final resting spot above ground.

The City of Winnipeg’s cemeteries branch has asked for early access to $200,000 earmarked in the 2024 capital budget to build new columbaria niches, citing increased demand at several burial sites.

Those who choose cremation for themselves or loved ones have a few options: urns, burial lots, scattering gardens or an underground chamber for loose remains.

Purchasing a columbaria niche — a reserved space in a permanent monument structure that holds urns — is becoming an increasingly popular option, city cemeteries administrator Brett Shenback said.

“We’re seeing a little bit stronger demand than we had expected,” he said.

The 2023 capital budget includes $200,000 to increase columbaria investment in 2024, but inventory is limited and expected to run out by the end of 2024, and it takes about a year to procure and install new columbaria, Shenback said.

There’s been about a 30 per cent increase in such space purchases over the last few years at the Brookside and St. Vital cemeteries, Shenback said. (Transcona Cemetery also offers columbaria space, but he said there hasn’t been as much of an increase in demand there.)

Just over 30 units have been sold at each cemetery yearly in the past two years, about 10 more than usual, Shenback said.

A large columbaria holds 72 units, and smaller separate structures are available.

The funding will increase capacity at both cemeteries, but to what extent has yet to be planned. It will also be used for landscaping and pathways.

“We just don’t want to be in a position where we have to say to folks, ‘Sorry, but we don’t have what you’re looking for,’” Shenback said.

The numbers correlate with a nationwide increase in the cremation rate in recent years, which currently sits at around 70 per cent in Canada, Shenback said, compared to less than 50 per cent around 20 years ago, and practically non-existent in the 1950s and before.

Exiting a pandemic where health and death were front of mind for many is likely another factor.

“I think there might be a bit of a COVID effect at play over the last couple of years, folks are thinking a little bit more about mortality, just wanting to make sure that everything’s in order for where their time comes,” he said.

The request was brought to the property and development committee Tuesday, when it was supported by Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry).

“Our cemeteries branch works hard. We don’t as a city, always invest in them the way that we should… This is the first charge against the budget and we expect that it’s a wise first charge,” she said.

Rollins said it was a step toward the eventual goal of having the city’s cemeteries branch be entirely self-sufficient. “That’s really the rationale for the first charge, that they do think that they can turn a profit and reinvest that into cemeteries.”

The request will next go to the executive policy committee, and then to council for potential final approval.

It is one of the pricier options City of Winnipeg cemeteries offer, with different rows and style costs ranging from $3,410 to $4,590. Columbaria units with multiple urns for families can cost more than $10,000.

“We’re doing 800 interments in a year across our three cemeteries, so the columbaria component is still fairly small. There’s a very wide range of different interment options, some a lot more affordable than others, for sure,” Shenback said.

“Columbaria tends to be on the higher end, and there definitely seems to be a segment of the population that’s willing to go down that route and spend a little bit more for that option.”

Winnipeg funeral home director Mike Vogiatzakis said the vast majority of the families he works with are picking cremation, but are also bypassing cemeteries entirely due to cost concerns.

“Times being a little tougher after COVID and all this kind of stuff, money’s tight. People are just not spending that kind of money on (columbaria) niches,” the Voyage Funeral Homes owner said Tuesday. “That’s what we find. We find a majority of families are either scattering or keeping the cremated remains at home.”

Vogiatzakis was critical of the expansion idea, suggested funding allotted to city cemeteries should be going to create more affordable options for families.

“What they should be doing is making some reasonable, fair pricing for families, so they can afford to do traditional burials, urns, and all that kind of stuff instead of trying to make more income.”

—With files from Joyanne Pursaga

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca