Canada's Funeral Homes Have To Subsidize Many Veterans Funerals Because The Harper Gov't Won't - UPDATED
Oh .... really ?????
Canadian funeral directors say they’re paying to bury war vets
OTTAWA — Canadian funeral directors say they’re routinely subsidizing the burials of this country’s most impoverished war veterans because the federal government pays so little for the service. Veterans Affairs Canada provides eligible veterans with up to $3,600 for funeral services through the Last Post Fund.
But that amount — it has remained unchanged for more than a decade — now covers only about half the cost of a veteran’s funeral, according to the Funeral Service Association of Canada.“It’s mostly the members of our association, or the families themselves, that are making up the difference,” said Phil Fredette, the association’s government relations chair.
Depending on the province, Fredette said, it now costs between $6,500 and $9,000 to provide the funeral services mandated under the Veterans Affairs Canada Funeral and Burial Program.
Among other things, the program requires funeral directors to bury war veterans in wooden caskets of a specified quality.
Some provinces, Fredette said, now pay as much or more for funeral services through social assistance.
Nova Scotia, for instance, offers $3,800 to cover the cost of a funeral and related services for a qualifying welfare recipient.
In Ontario, many municipalities pay funeral service rates of $4,000 to $5,000 for eligible social service recipients. Ottawa increased its rates last year to $4,366.
Jean-Pierre Goyer, executive director of the non-profit Last Post Fund, said “some funeral directors are not calling us anymore, they’re going right to social services.”
Canada.comCanadian funeral directors say they’re paying to bury war vets
OTTAWA — Canadian funeral directors say they’re routinely subsidizing the burials of this country’s most impoverished war veterans because the federal government pays so little for the service. Veterans Affairs Canada provides eligible veterans with up to $3,600 for funeral services through the Last Post Fund.
But that amount — it has remained unchanged for more than a decade — now covers only about half the cost of a veteran’s funeral, according to the Funeral Service Association of Canada.“It’s mostly the members of our association, or the families themselves, that are making up the difference,” said Phil Fredette, the association’s government relations chair.
Depending on the province, Fredette said, it now costs between $6,500 and $9,000 to provide the funeral services mandated under the Veterans Affairs Canada Funeral and Burial Program.
Among other things, the program requires funeral directors to bury war veterans in wooden caskets of a specified quality.
Some provinces, Fredette said, now pay as much or more for funeral services through social assistance.
Nova Scotia, for instance, offers $3,800 to cover the cost of a funeral and related services for a qualifying welfare recipient.
In Ontario, many municipalities pay funeral service rates of $4,000 to $5,000 for eligible social service recipients. Ottawa increased its rates last year to $4,366.
Jean-Pierre Goyer, executive director of the non-profit Last Post Fund, said “some funeral directors are not calling us anymore, they’re going right to social services.”
-Harper Still Giving A $6 Billion Tax Cut To Banks And Big Corps - Yet Won't Tell Us Where He Will Cut ... now we know!
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UPDATE: (... and it's only going to get worse!)
-Harper letter to MacKay: Cut more administration, sell surplus Defence property - Winnipeg Free Press
