Families relieved Montreal cemetery to reopen on Sundays for first time since pandemic started
Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery has decided to reopen on Sundays much to the relief of many families.
Since the pandemic began, the cemetery remained closed to people wishing to pay their respects to their loved ones.
It's been a long, hard fought battle for Michael Musacchio.
He comes to the cemetery to visit his daughter, Vanessa, but the Sunday closure made that a lot harder.
“I started back at work six days a week. I was never able to come so I decided that this was unjust. Every other cemetery in Montreal, and Canada for that fact, were [open] seven days a week,” he told CTV News.
He spent countless hours trying to get answers and to get the cemetery to open on Sundays.
“I work all day and then devote my time to emailing. I've emailed everybody,” he said.
Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery will now be open from 9 a.m. to noon on Sundays, a major relief for Musacchio and other families as well.
Tracey Timmoney’s father died right as the pandemic hit last year. Not being able to visit on Sunday meant a lot of logistical challenges.
“It made it difficult. It made it very, very difficult especially to bring my mom,” she said.
“I would have to arrange it somehow on a Saturday and if a Saturday didn't work, if the weather wasn't that great, well, then we had to wait for the following week.”
But what they both still question are the reasons given by the cemetery for why it closed.
Musacchio said cemetery officials told him it was so the facilities could be disinfected and cleaned.
Patrick Chartrand, who works at the cemetery and is a union representative, said it's not true that employees disinfect on Sundays, and claimed it was all about saving money.
“The truth is it’s purely economic. We save the salaries of the security guards,” he said in an interview.
CTV News reached out to cemetery officials for comment but did not hear back at press time.
“For me, this is a way to honour her,” said Musacchio, who, like other families, have some peace of mind and are able to now pay their respects every day of the week.
“I think it's just something that should have been done from the beginning. I fought because it's something that was not right.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours - a new global chess record
A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.