A gradual return to normal is expected at the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery after a six-month strike. Those wishing to gather at the site will have to wait until September due to maintenance delays.
Burials will resume at the largest cemetery in the country “in chronological priority order” over the next few weeks, informed La Fabrique, the organization responsible for managing the site, in a press release.
The bereaved families will however have to wait until September to have access to the land, the maintenance of which was also left aside during the strike.
“We had no choice but to close the site because of its condition, while the usual maintenance work was not guaranteed and this posed risks for visitors,” said Michel St-Amour, spokesperson for La Fabrique, in a press release. An exception will be allowed for the relatives of people whose burial will take place before the reopening.
The highly anticipated reopening plan will run until December. An agreement in principle was accepted by 83% last Thursday, resolving the impasse between the workers and the management of the cemetery. About 100 employees were back at work on Monday after a strike that had lasted since mid-January.