Human remains of 500 people moved as Toronto cemetery spends $2.5 million to shore up slope
A slope at St. James Cemetery in Toronto is eroding, sparking a $2.5 million project to save cremated human remains of hundreds of people from sliding into the valley.
St. James Cathedral has embarked on a plan to stabilize the slope on the south side of the Rosedale Valley.
“Many of the lots were located close to the slope. People like that, it’s picturesque. But those locations can be compromised by Mother Nature,” said John O’Brien, the director of operations for St. James Cemetery.
He said crews had identified and mapped each of some 500 plots and identified which ones needed to be moved.
“Each was disinterred by hand. They were hand-dug. They were placed into separate containers, and all of those containers were placed in a larger secure container where they will remain until the work is finished,” O’Brien said.
Tens of thousands of people are interred at St. James Cemetery, the oldest still functioning cemetery in Toronto. The graves on this slope were placed between 1960 and 2010.
One of the reasons the slope is disintegrating is because of the Norway Maples, which were planted in the 1960s. They grow faster than native trees and their broad leaves create a thick canopy that crowds out native vegetation with deeper root structures that would have kept the soil more stable.
Some of those trees are being removed as part of the project, O’Brien said. Crews are also placing an interlocking series of piles under the ground that can act as a support structure for the escarpment, as well as adding drainage.
Finding relatives of everyone affected has been a challenge. The cemetery hopes that the publicity will help. O'Brien said they believe this is the largest disinterment in Ontario's history.
He says the cathedral is paying the $2.5 million tab.
“They are the owners of the Cemetery. They have an obligation to maintain these graves in perpetuity,” he said.
“The thought is at the end of it, it will be secure for generations to come,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.