The Stone Centre
Helpful information about cemetery rules, regulations, and your right to choose a monument company.
All cemeteries in Ontario are required to have a set of bylaws or rules and regulations that must be filed with the Ontario Cemetery Registrar's office. Some bylaws are very simple, while others are very complex.
In most cemeteries, you cannot simply put up whatever you want. You have to follow the rules set out in the cemetery bylaws or regulations.
As of July 1, 2012, Ontario laws for cemeteries require the cemetery to provide information in writing to the registered lot owner that tells you the type and size of memorial that will be allowed, along with any other requirements for the memorial that may be placed on your lot.
It is very helpful if you bring this sheet along when you visit. If you forget your information sheet, it is not a problem. We can look up the information in our regulations binders and / or contact the cemetery to find out what you will be allowed to place on your lot.
No, you are not required to purchase memorialization from the cemetery.
We hear more and more often about situations where a family was told that they must purchase memorial products from the cemetery. This is simply not true.
It is illegal for any cemetery in Ontario to refuse the installation of a memorial purchased from a monument company, as long as the memorial complies with the cemetery bylaws or regulations.
You have an Ontario government legislated right to purchase memorialization products from a monument company of your choice, rather than from the cemetery, if you wish to do so.
Monument companies, their employees, and their representatives are full-time professionals in the monument and memorialization industry. They are not governed by the same legislation that governs the activities of cemeteries and funeral homes.
Cemeteries, casket stores, funeral homes, and others who sell monuments as a sideline must have a valid licence in order to sell memorialization products.
Cemeterians and funeral homes meet families immediately after a death, when people are often at their most vulnerable. To address these concerns, the Ontario government introduced legislation effective July 1, 2012, requiring extra education and licensing for cemetery and funeral home employees who wish to sell memorialization products.
