If you are a licensed funeral service provider, funeral director, embalmer, cemetery or crematoria, you are probably familiar with the rules that are outlined in the Cremation, Interment and Funeral Services Act and regulations. Consumer Protection BC sometimes gets unique questions from businesses in the industry. Here is one particular request and response that may help you in your communications with your clients.

Request:

A member of the 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.

Response:

According to BC law, cremation is considered to be final disposition. As cremated remains pose no health hazard, there is no law governing their final disposition. However, their disposition does need to be consistent with the written preference of the deceased and the remains must be released to a person with control of disposition. The family should be advised that the disposal of cremated remains on private or public property should be cleared with the land owner or local government that oversees those lands.

Section 4 of the Cremation, Interment and Funeral Services Act relates to this request. The section discusses the improper disposition of human remains and states that:

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.

Click here to view this section within the Act.