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Send a letter to your Member of Parliament and Member of the National Assembly
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Date

Name of MP or MNA
Address


Dear ______________,

I am writing to ask for your assistance with respect to current funeral legislation. 

A full-service conventional funeral often costs more than $10,000.  By contrast, a household willing to file the correct paperwork and transport the deceased to a crematorium or cemetery themselves can spend less than $750.  Québec citizens choosing to be self-sufficient when a death occurs are prevented from doing so by laws that compel them to mandatorily hire the funeral industry. 

In all other provinces of Canada, families retain the legal option to provide after-death care for next-of-kin independent of the funeral industry.  Few occasions are as trying or intimate for any family as a death; it is especially unfortunate that Québec families are, under these circumstances, required to retain a third party to carry out what they themselves may prefer to do.  While it is true that a majority of Québec families will elect to rely on funeral directors to provide complete deathcare arrangements, the civil rights of individuals who choose to proceed independently must be respected. 

Until the nineteenth century, the Canadian funeral was almost exclusively an intimate affair. Family and close friends performed most deathcare duties, including washing and laying out the body, building the coffin and digging the grave.  Over time, the funeral industry developed practices and recommendations that have become accepted as the norm.  Although many rural and less affluent families, along with certain religious and cultural groups, have continued to care for their own after death, the vast majority of families have lost touch with traditional methods and values.

In recent years, a growing number of Canadians have sought to return to these customs – customs our great-grandparents would instantly recognize and consider a natural part of family life.  We contend that it is the role of the Québec government to assist citizens in this effort.

In conclusion, I ask that Québec legislators and policymakers modify funeral legislation to accommodate a family’s choice to determine the manner in which they wish to care for their deceased loved ones.

Sincerely,

____________________