Montrealer unsure if parents’ urns, ashes have been recovered after fire at Pointe-Claire funeral home

UPDATE Jan. 25: Sebastien was contacted by the Collins Clarke MacGillivray White funeral home on Jan. 25 to let him know that they recovered his parents’ ashes and urns – and he will recuperate them in a few weeks. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A major fire burned down much of the Collins Clarke MacGillivray White funeral home in Pointe-Claire on November 8, and since then, a man named Sebastien has been trying to find out if his parents’ urns and ashes have been recovered, but so far – no answers.

“I’m concerned about my parents’ ashes. I want to know where they are, I want to know if they found them. I haven’t gotten an answer yet and it’s been a few months,” he said.

“My parents gave me the job to make sure that their wishes were taken seriously and they wanted to spend the next 40 years beside each other and now I don’t know where they are, I don’t know what’s going on and I’ve had no word from Collins Clark. 

On November 24, Sebastien said that he was told he would be notified before Christmas about whether his parents’ urns and ashes were found in what was left of the funeral home. 

“I got no call and after Christmas, I still didn’t get a call and I’m honestly a bit disappointed and I’ve been waiting to give them the chance to kind of step up to the plate,” he explained.

RELATED: Montreal’s West Island residents hoping to recover urns after funeral home fire

In a written response to CityNews, Christopher James, a spokesperson for the Collins Clarke MacGillivray White funeral home, said, “At Collins Clarke MacGillivray White Funeral Home, we understand that families are at the heart of every community, and their well-being is our utmost concern. In the aftermath of the recent fire, we want to assure our community that our cleanup efforts are centered around ensuring the safety and comfort of every family affected. Our focus remains on being thorough during the recovery process, which will continue to be a long and extensive progression. At this phase in the process, all of the urns impacted from the fire have been recovered and all of the families have been contacted. However, some of the contact information we have on file is no longer in use. Next week we will establish temporary office space that will remain in place until we reconstruct the funeral home. It will be located next to Collins Clarke MacGillivray White at 201 Cartier Avenue, Pointe-Claire. We are also collaborating with local churches so families can continue to have services for their loved ones. Families that want to see their loved ones’ urns must make an appointment by calling 514-483-1870.” 

Meanwhile, Sebastien says, “I’m quite concerned because if they don’t find the ashes, then what are they gonna do with the ground that’s there? I don’t want my parents to be used in the dirt in the foundation or to be left there and then people after walking on my parent’s remains and other people’s remains without any kind of notice or respect given to that.” 

The city of Montreal says that the fire department was unable to determine the physical cause of the fire because of the widespread destruction of the second floor – where it likely started, but that the Montreal police arson squad has ruled out foul play.

“The kind of feelings that I’m feeling at the moment are sadness regret frustration hurt and you know, there’s no closure, and unfortunately and this is fresh for me because I you know, I said goodbye to my parents in 2022, 2023, one after the other.”