People can soon scatter their loved one's ashes at upcoming park
A park is rising on the bank of the Etobicoke Creek in Mississauga that will be the newest site in the Greater Toronto Area designated for scattering a loved ones ashes.
Kiratpur Park – named after a sacred site in India is being built near the Ontario Khalsa Darbar Sikh temple allowing many Hindus and Sikhs the opportunity to fulfill the obligation to scatter remains in flowing water.
“In absences of designated places, people were hiding along the rivers and creeks and doing it in a rush rush kind of thing,” said Amanpreet Singh Bal, a volunteer with the temple and has been involved with the project.
“How can you tell someone born in Canada that at the end of life your ashes are going to go to some far away land.”
The temple reached an agreement with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to have the designated site.
(Ace property Care Inc./Facebook)
It won’t be finished until end of August, but already more than 200 services have been held here.
Along with direct access to the running water of the Etoibcoke Creek, the park will also include a fountain, a gazebo, recycling bins for cardboard boxes used to transport remains, and areas for mourners to grieve.
“For a long time South Asian communities have not had a culturally sensitive, safe way to complete their rights of passage,” said Jaspreet Bal, Spokesperson with the Ontario Khalsa Darbar Temple. “ Having a space like this allows for betterment of health – allows for community support.”
For Sikhs, dispersing a loved one’s ashes into flowing water is among four major rites of passage. The alternative to a designated site, is travelling to India which Bal says often challenging and financial burden for many families.
“Some families would hold on to their loved ones ashes and wait months before they could afford a ticket to India.”
The pandemic has also heightening the need for a local designated site due to travel restrictions.
At the same time, cremation rates are on the rise in Canada. More than 70 per cent of deaths in Canada were followed by cremation last year, according to the Cremation Association of North America.
Disposing of ashes allowed on Crown land, but it is generally not permitted on municipal lands in Ontario.
The City of Toronto is currently exploring the possibility of a designated location.
“From government, it would be great to see this support continue…this is the gold standard to produce culturally sensitive services,” Bal said.
Officials say the park is open to people of all faiths and backgrounds.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.