Montreal cemetery strike

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Groundskeepers have returned to work at Montreal's Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery, and the non-profit that runs the cemetery says it hopes to reopen the site by early September, but it will take months to clear a backlog of burials. The cemetery, the largest in Canada, has been closed since January when its workers went on strike. During that time, the grounds became overgrown and a spring ice storm littered branches among the tombstones and left others hanging precariously over the graves. But the strike ended last week — at least for the operations staff who maintain the grounds. The cemetery's office staff are still on strike.

Montreal cemetery strike

The labour dispute has left more than bodies unburied, with the remains stored at freezing temperatures in an on-site repository, the cemetery said. Nancy Babalis said she still comes nearly every weekend to visit the plot of her year-old son, who died 10 years earlier minus a day. A groundhog perched on the base of a headstone sat shrouded in overgrown grass Sunday, the only creature visible on the property. We have one, two, three, four tree limbs that fall each day. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost. Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments.

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Office employees at the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery have reached a deal in principle to end a month strike, the union announced on Wednesday. The details of the deal, which the union says was reached Tuesday evening, will be kept confidential until voted on by members on Monday. The deal comes five months after a deal to end a concurrent strike by maintenance workers, who returned to work in July after approving it. Their six months off the job resulted in burials being delayed, but the cemetery was able to reopen with its office employees still on the picket lines. Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site.

Quebec's labour minister says he is "very optimistic" that there might be a way out of the months-long strike at Canada's largest cemetery that has caused heartache for hundreds of grieving families. After having separate meetings with Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery officials and the workers' union to try to find a solution, Jean Boulet has proposed both sides let an independent arbitrator settle the longstanding dispute. Workers at the Montreal cemetery have been on strike since last September, meaning in-ground burials for hundreds of bodies are on hold while they remain in cold storage. Families, in the meantime, are frustrated since the cemetery has been closed for several months. Coming out of Monday's meetings, Boulet gave both sides 48 hours to respond to his proposal for binding arbitration.

Montreal cemetery strike

A strike that has kept the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery in Montreal closed for more than six months came one step closer to ending on Thursday. After a marathon negotiating session overnight Wednesday, the parties — the cemetery workers and management — agreed to accept the recommendation of a government-appointed mediator, according to Labour Minister Jean Boulet. The development was the first sign in months that the strike, which has shuttered the cemetery and frustrated families who have been unable to bury relatives or visit their loved ones' graves since January, could be nearing an end.

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The union representing striking maintenance workers at one of the country's biggest cemeteries says a deal has been reached with their employer. Gates at the cemetery have been closed since mid-January, leaving bereaved families unable to visit and sometimes resorting to sneaking through the fence.

Caryn Ceolin reports. Advertisement 1. Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet said on Twitter that 83 per cent of the employees accepted an agreement in principle. An assistant professor of economics at the University of Regina says most Saskatchewan families have been getting more money back from carbon rebate cheques than they've paid in carbon tax. Workers at the cemetery have been on strike since September, and hundreds of bodies have remained in cold storage awaiting burial since that time. Quebec mom says Air Canada bungled her family vacation because they overbooked the flight. From a green Christmas to a hibernating bear's early wake-up, Montreal's winter season has been the second-warmest since record-keeping began in , an Environment Canada meteorologist said. Central and southern Manitoba remain under an array of weather alerts on Sunday. Impairment is suspected in a Burnaby crash that sent one person to hospital in critical condition early Sunday morning, according to authorities. Stay Connected. Close Local your local region National.