Bank erosion threatens a small cemetery in Minganie

Bank erosion threatens a small Protestant cemetery in Rivière-Saint-Jean, in Minganie. Citizens fear that weather conditions will destroy the ground on which two graves lie, including one of a First World War veteran.

If the winds combined with the warmer temperatures of the last few days revive concerns about the future of the site, people in the region have been aware of the situation for several years.

It’s been urgent for a long time, but now the light is redremarks jeanriveraine Vicky Dérosby.

A former resident of Rivière-Saint-Jean, Gilles Chambers, explains that he even tried to have one of the bodies, that of his great-grandfather, moved for around ten years. However, his efforts did not bear fruit.

The Municipality has also taken steps to be able to exhume the bodies before they end up in the sea. It has owned the land where the cemetery has been located for two years.

We’ve been on this issue for four years. This is not a file that we abandonsupports the mayor of Rivière-Saint-Jean, Josée Brunet.

What does exhuming a body involve?

According to the Funeral Activities Act, a Superior Court judge must approve any movement of a deceased person. The public health director must also approve the exhumation, and can impose conditions.

In the case of Rivière-Saint-Jean, the Municipality is also in discussion with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission since one of the bodies is that of a veteran.

Josée Brunet specifies that this veteran died of the Spanish flu, which could prompt additional steps, according to her.

Exhuming a body is not a simple mattersummarizes the mayor.

She also reminds citizens not to approach the site as the risk of subsidence is significant.