Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery set to reopen Monday
Posted September 8, 2023 11:44 am.
Last Updated September 10, 2023 5:40 pm.
Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery is set to reopen to the public on Monday morning, after being shut for nine months.
The grounds have now been mostly cleaned, since workers returned after a six-month strike ended in July.
On its website, La Fabrique, the non-profit organization in charge of managing the site, said \the near-entirety of the Cemetery will be made accessible to the general public, as well as the site’s three entrances – Decelles, Remembrance and Côte-Des-Neiges – including the mausoleums – starting on September 11.
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“Areas representing a potential hazard to visitors will be clearly indicated in order to avoid risks leading to falls and/or injuries. Maintenance Operations teams will have marked areas where clean-up work is not entirely completed,” the statement on their website reads. Adding that this only represents about two per cent of cemetery grounds.
The strike led to families protesting in front of the cemetery to be allowed access to loved ones graves. Hundreds of bodies were also left in cold storage for months waiting to be buried.
La Fabrique says that “cremation as well as crypt and ground burial services have resumed, however, the schedule aiming to make up for the time lost will likely extend to December, if not January.”
This was the second strike at the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery since 2007.
Some dozen office staff members remain on strike, that labour dispute ongoing for the last year.
