Woman 'brings her broom' to Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery amid unkempt conditions
Montreal families are continuing to complain about conditions at the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery, saying the conditions there make visiting loved ones a challenge.
Kevin Mann said the site of his family's grave is in bad shape.
"I feel terrible. I feel like they're buried in an unmarked grave," he told CTV News.
Paying a visit is difficult because the grass is so high, he said.
"My parents are here, my grandparents are here. I have a brother buried here, resting here. And I'm a little bit annoyed at the upkeep of the grounds," he said.
Mann said his calls to the cemetery management go unanswered.
He and other visitors complain of overgrown grass and weeds, overflowing garbage, broken tombstones and holes dug up by groundhogs.
Mary Iacampo has resorted to cleaning a mausoleum herself.
"The floors are dirty -- so much dirt it's granulated under [your] feet -- spiderwebs, water on the floor, garbage that isn't picked up for three to four weeks or until I complain..." she listed.
"I cry, every week. So I do what I can. I brought my broom, I brought my rake, and I'm going to clean some more for me," she said. "For my parents."
Grounds workers at Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, which is Canada's largest cemetery, have been without a contract for three and a half years.
The vice president of their union says there are extreme staffing shortages as well.
"We had 20 to 25 people doing that grass that would just maintain it, but now we're down to five to six people on grass, and there's only one person on the weed wacker," said Eric Dumoulin. "It's not normal."
He said staff are burning out and leaving -- and he has the same questions the visitors do:
"Why can't they hire more people?"
The Fabrique, the non-profit organization that oversees the cemetery, didn't respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
In a press release from 2021, it said the cemetery had a $100 million deficit.
"Several difficult decisions will need to be made to put an end to the cemetery's annual operating deficits, and we hope to negotiate and conclude new agreements with the unions representing our operations and office employees in the coming months," the release states.
But 13 months later, visitors are still left wondering how much longer this will take.
"How can they think it's right to let a place like this get to this condition?" questioned Iacampo.
The union and the employer are expected to be back at the negotiating table in September.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Eating disorders among youth skyrocketed during pandemic and so did associated costs, report finds
The number of young people experiencing eating disorders surged during the height of the pandemic as the social and economic costs skyrocketed too, a new pan-Canadian report has found.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.