Families in 'anguish': Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery reopens after months-long closure
Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery in Montreal reopened Friday for the first time in months.
Families have been unable to visit loved ones since January after a labour dispute forced the cemetery’s closure.
"I suffer, believe me,” said Luigi Decubellis, who visited his wife’s grave at least once a week for the past 16 years. "Not coming to see my wife is killing me."
Families said they have felt like their loved ones have been taken hostage.
"We've always made this a point to come here,” said George Decubellis. “To take a moment to just show our feelings for our mother. My dad's been with my mom 52 years. God bless them, they had a beautiful life, so it's just extremely difficult."
After three months, the cemetery is again open to family members, but only from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
That's upsetting to some, like Michael Musacchio, who is desperate to visit his daughter Vanessa's grave but can’t because he works during opening hours.
"It's unfair. We've entrusted our families to their care. It's supposed to be a place to go to find some peace and find serenity and it's caused more anguish than anything else," he said.
Though it’s open, many families were met Friday with unplowed roads and walkways.
Cemetery staff are on strike and say if management gets its way, the situation will only get worse.
"They just want to cut everywhere. On the salary for sure, but on the number of people,” said Eric Dufault, president of the cemetery workers’ union. “If we accept this, it's going to be the beginning of the end. The cemetery will be abandoned, like a forest."
High snow meant Luigi was unable to reach his wife's grave. He has surgery next week and doesn't know the next time he'll be able to visit.
"I don't know if I'm coming back after the operation, am I no longer going to see my wife? I'm going crazy. I'm sorry, but I'm going crazy."
Workers have been without a contract now for more than four years.
Management did not return request for comment.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.