‘Absolutely shameful:’ Richmond Hill cemetery accused of blocking burial on family plot

A grieving family has yet to put their loved one to rest more than seven months after he passed away, claiming a Richmond Hill cemetery is blocking the burial.

Lisa Tsotsos says her father, Louis, passed away on January 15th in hospital of COVID-19 complications. But plans to lay him to rest in the family plot remain in limbo.

“On the day of the funeral, I was told that the burial could not happen because the grave digger and the funeral home director was chased off the property and asked to leave,” Tsotsos tells CityNews.

The dispute centers around ownership of the burial site at Headford Cemetery located on Leslie Street in Richmond Hill. However, the cemetery – along with the Headford United Church – were sold in January 2020 to a company known as September21 Inc. Now known as the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, the cemetery has yet to be licensed to operate.

The Bereavement Authority of Ontario – which oversees funeral homes and cemeteries in the province – says the cemetery has refused to become licensed, failing to fill out the forms which they’re obligated to do so by law. The BAO issued an order in January directing the cemetery not to interfere with the burial as the family “has valid interment rights at Headford Cemetery.” A recent court order also directed the cemetery to do the same with a date no later than August 31st. All of these orders have been ignored.

“It’s absolutely shameful and we’ve never seen anything like this,” said BAO spokesperson David Brazeau. “It’s been eight months now that they’re waiting. They’re loved one stored in cold storage. It’s absolutely shameful.”

Photo of Lisa Tsotsos and her father, Louis. (Courtesy Tsotsos family)

Tsotsos says the landowners have delayed and blocked every subsequent attempt to go forward with the burial, even though two other family members are currently buried in the plot which the family purchased back in 2014.

“This whole time we’ve been trying to sort out and my family’s trying to sort out what their motive is for blocking this,” Tsotsos said.

In an emailed statement to CityNews, a group identifying themselves as the board of directors clarified that the church is only a tenant in the property and not involved in the dispute.

“From the information available to us from both sides of the dispute, the family does not have required documents to confirm their rights to the plot and is trying to inter the body in the grave that belongs to another person,” reads the statement. “To our knowledge, the family is unwilling to allow the landowner to ensure that the burial meets the requirements for the depth of the grave.”

Due to the ongoing dispute with the Tsotsos, the BAO issued a consumer alert to other families who might have burial rights at the cemetery to get in touch with them to make sure those rights are honoured by the cemetery owner.

“A grieving family has recently been prevented from burying their loved one. This is an unprecedented, shameful situation that we are alerting families about to ensure the law and the rights of families’ are respected,” said BAO CEO and Reistrar Carey Smith.

Anyone with questions is asked to contact the BAO by email or by calling 647-483-2645 (toll-free +1 844-493-6356), and asking for Inspector Kate Dafoe.