About Nipissing Township’s Cemeteries
The Township of Nipissing owns and operates 3 Municipal Cemeteries.
The cemeteries are licensed by the Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO) which is an administrative body operating under the authority of the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services (MGCS), under the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 (FBCSA)
Information on Interments, Monuments, Lot Decorations, and Interment Rights Purchase is available from the Township of Nipissing, we would be happy to speak with you to answer any questions you may have or to explain the details of the Cemetery By-Law.
By-Law 2022-38:
Request Forms:
Cemetery Operator’s License Number:
Nipissing Union Cemetery: CM-03135
St. John’s Alsace Cemetery: CM-03136
Commanda Union Cemetery: CM-03137
Nipissing Union Cemetery, Commanda Union Cemetery and St. John’s Alsace Cemetery. Fees per By-Law Number 2022-38
| Township Resident: Description | Fee |
|---|---|
| Single Lot | $ 340.00 |
| Cremation Lot *Block 14 only | $ 220.00 |
| Single Lot for 2 Cremated Remains | $ 400.00 |
| Non-Resident: Description | Fee |
|---|---|
| Single Lot | $ 530.00 |
| Cremation Lot *Block 14 only | $ 265.00 |
| Single Lot for 2 Cremated Remains | $ 590.00 |
| Interment Rates | Fee |
|---|---|
| Regular Grave Opening – weekdays | $ 300.00 |
| Regular Grave Opening – Saturdays | $ 400.00 |
| Cremation Opening – weekdays | $ 150.00 |
| Cremation Opening – Saturdays | $ 200.00 |
| Foundation Rates | Fee |
|---|---|
| Under 36 Inches | $ 400.00 |
| 36 to 48 Inches | $ 500.00 |
| 48 to 60 Inches | $ 800.00 |
| Over 60 Inches | $ 900.00 |
| Pad Base (Flat Marker) *Pillow marker 173 square inches and up | $ 200.00 |
| Install ground Setting *Flat marker under 173 square inches | $ 35.00 |
The BAO’s Consumer Information Guide: A Guide to Death Care in Ontario is a free consumer-protection information booklet. The guide is written for families and the public to know their rights and responsibilities before entering into contracts with organizations that are licensed under the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002. All licensees of the BAO are required to provide consumers with a copy of this guide.
The BAO urges all consumers to access A Guide to Death Care in Ontario ahead of time and encourages them to read through the guide, plan ahead and ask a lot of questions prior to entering into a contract with a provider.
If you have questions related to the information contained within A Guide to Death Care in Ontario, please feel free to contact the Bereavement Authority of Ontario, or a licensed service provider.
For an interment in the Nipissing Union, St. John’s Alsace or Commanda Union Cemetery to take place, consent is required from the interment rights holder. Interment rights refer to the right to bury human remains (including cremated remains) in a grave. If you are named on the interment rights certificate, you are the interment rights holder and acquire the right to request a burial or disinterment, have a marker or monument installed, as long as you follow the Cemetery’s By-Laws. Note: Ownership of all cemetery land remains the property of the Cemetery Owner (Township of Nipissing).
Burial Hours: By Appointment
Spring Burial Hours: Monday to Friday between 8:30 am to 2:00 pm
*No interments take place on Sundays or Statutory Holidays*
Visitation Hours: During daylight hours, seven (7) days per week, year-round.
*Winter maintenance is not performed within any cemetery; entry is at the visitor’s own risk. *
The fees listed below are outlined in the Cemetery Price List.
Care and Maintenance Fund is a requirement under the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002, that a percentage of the purchase price of all Interment Rights, and set amounts for marker and monument installations is contributed into the Care and Maintenance Fund. Interest earned from this fund is used to provide care and maintenance of lots, markers and monuments at the Cemetery.
General Policies for Burials, Monuments and Maintenance
A Burial Permit issued by the Registrar General or equivalent document showing that the death has been registered with the province must be provided to the Township Office prior to a burial taking place. A Certificate of Cremation must be submitted to the Township Office prior to the burial of cremated remains taking place.
All lot sales must be paid in full at the time of purchase. Any person may purchase up to two single lots at a tariff rate applicable to the registered owner of the lot.
The opening and closing of graves may only be conducted by cemetery staff or those designated to do work on behalf of the cemetery.
A regular burial lot may have 1 interment or 2 cremated remains.
Cremated remains are not permitted to be scattered on a grave or within the cemetery grounds.
Lots purchased prior to 1955 or where Care and Maintenance was not collected, will be subject to the current rate.
A fence of any type is not permitted, unless placed by the Township of Nipissing, owner and operator of the cemetery.
Sale of pre-need lots in the St. John’s Alsace Cemetery is discontinued. Sale of lots as required will continue with a site visit prior to finalization of the sale with a member of Township staff to determine the suitability of the location for a burial and a monument placement.
Prior to the finalization of burial arrangements, the Cemetery Caretaker or Township Office must be consulted.
No memorial or other structure shall be erected or permitted on a lot until all charges have been paid in full.
No monument is to be placed, moved, altered or removed without the permission and supervision of the Cemetery Caretaker.
Cemetery monuments and marker stones must be supplied by a monument company, unless authorized by the Cemetery Committee prior to installation.
The Township reserves the right to determine the maximum size of monuments, their number and their location on each lot or plot. They must not be of a size that would interfere with any future interments.
All foundations for monuments and markers shall be built by the Cemetery Caretaker at the expense of the interment rights holder.
Should any monument or marker present a risk to public safety because it has become unstable, the Cemetery Caretaker shall do whatever is deemed necessary by way of repairing, resetting, or laying down the monument or marker or any other remedy so as to remove the risk.
The Township reserves the right to remove at its sole discretion any marker, monument or inscription which is not in keeping with the dignity and decorum of the cemetery as determined by the Cemetery Committee and/or Council.
Any new lot sold in the un-surveyed portion of the Nipissing Union and Commanda Union Cemeteries requires corner marker stones as supplied by a monument company, installed at the time of purchase.
Block 14 – Nipissing Union Cemetery – Cremation section allows for one (1) flat marker per lot only.
Regular burial lots are permitted a maximum of one (1) monument per lot with the exception of Veteran monuments. Upright monuments are permitted on any regular lot.
The Township reserves the right to regulate the articles placed on lots or plots that pose a threat to the safety of all interment rights holders, visitors to the cemetery and Cemetery Staff as well as any articles that prevent the performance of general cemetery operations or are not in keeping with the respect and dignity of the cemetery.
Prohibited articles will be removed and disposed of without notification.
- The Township reserves the right to disallow or remove quantities of memorial wreaths or flowers considered to be excessive and that diminishes the otherwise tidy appearance of the cemetery.
- Memorial wreaths may be placed in the cemetery only between the months of April and November. In order to prepare the grounds for spring, wreaths must be removed prior to November 30th. Wreaths not removed by November 30th will be removed and disposed of by the Cemetery Caretaker without notification.
Flowers, trees or shrubs may not be planted in the cemetery unless approved by the Cemetery Committee.
Flowers placed on a grave for a funeral or remembrance shall be removed by the Cemetery Caretaker after a reasonable time to protect the sod and maintain the tidy appearance of the cemetery.
No person other than Cemetery Staff shall remove any sod or in any other way change the surface of the burial lot in the cemetery.
Articles donated for installation in the cemetery must be approved by the Cemetery Committee.
Minor scraping of the monument base of an upright monument due to grass/lawn maintenance is considered to be normal wear.
The Township of Nipissing will take reasonable precautions to protect the property of interment rights holders, but it assumes no liability for the loss of, or damage to, any monument, marker or other structure or part thereof.
A portion of the price of interment rights is trusted into the Care and Maintenance Fund. The income generated from this fund is used to maintain, secure and preserve the cemetery grounds. Services that can be provided through this fund include:
- Re-levelling and sodding or seeing of Lots.
- Maintenance of cemetery roads and pathways.
- Maintenance of perimeter fencing if applicable.
- Maintenance of cemetery landscaping.
- Repairs and general upkeep of cemetery equipment.
- Mayor Dave Yemm
- Councillor James Scott
- Brett MacDonald
- Tom Marchant
- Rod Rennett
- Staff Representative: Kris Croskery-Hodgins and Dan MacInnis