Grievers protest months-long cemetery standoff that’s left 300-plus bodies unburied

By The Canadian Press on July 9, 2023.

MONTREAL – Grievers are gathering in Montreal to protest the months-long standoff between workers and management at Canada’s largest cemetery.

A strike by more than 100 maintenance and office workers has kept the Notre-Dames-des-Neiges Cemetery’s wrought-iron gates shut to the public since mid-January, with the exception of a few days in the spring.

The labour dispute has left more than 300 bodies unburied, with the remains stored at freezing temperatures in an on-site repository.

Enza Lucifero says her father died on Jan. 13, and her family has been unable to find closure since.

She is calling on the Quebec government to resolve the impasse and says the situation is unacceptable and devoid of dignity for the dead.

Labour Minister Jean Boulet says the parties will meet with him separately on Monday, weeks after a tentative deal fell through.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2023.

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