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More than 300 bodies are in cold storage on the site as the dispute has postponed in-ground burials.
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The bereaved families gathered Sunday afternoon at the locked main gates of the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery, some holding photographs of the loves they have lost, aren’t taking sides in the labour dispute that has kept Canada’s largest cemetery closed since January. They just want the strike settled so that they can visit in peace with their loved ones and sit by their gravesides, so that the cemetery’s usually beautiful grounds are maintained and the grass cut: It’s so long now that many tombstones are hidden.
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More than 300 bodies are in cold storage on the site as the dispute has postponed in-ground burials, depriving families of the closure that accompanies burial. Following a six-month labour dispute in 2007, it took more than a year to bury the hundreds of bodies in storage.
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With the exception of a few days in late March and early April and six hours on Mother’s Day, the cemetery has been closed to the public. Only the main gate on Côte-des-Neiges Rd. was open on Mother’s Day and the traffic was so extensive that many were unable to enter.
Some family members gain access by sneaking in — crawling under fences or finding hidden access points, but it’s less than ideal. “There is tension when you come, where there should be peace,” said Bianca Lacireno, standing at the cemetery’s wrought-iron gate holding a framed photo of her son, Alex Lacireno, who died at 21 of pneumonia in 2019.
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“We are the voice for those who can’t speak,” said a picket sign carried by Nancy Babalis. Her son Peter Kitsos was 13 when he died from glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer. Monday, July 10, is the 10th anniversary of his death. Babalis generally visits his grave on weekends and holidays; her parents visit daily. Her 82-year-old father carried a shovel last winter to clear a path to the grave in the snow.
Ron Tondino’s brother David, the youngest of three brothers, died last summer of a brain tumour. He was 63. Ron and his brother used to visit David’s grave every Wednesday until January: Now they sit outside the gates on Remembrance Rd. to visit. “We are hoping this will get settled. We are not interested in taking sides. It’s been long enough,” he said, holding a poster with a photo of David.
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The cemetery’s striking workers are affiliated with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN). The Syndicat des travailleuses et travailleurs du Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges—CSN, representing the cemetery’s 100 groundskeepers, walked off the job Jan. 12; their members have been without a contract since 2018. The Syndicat des employées et employés du bureau du Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges—CSN, representing its 17 office workers, has been on strike since Sept. 20.
Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet has said he will meet with the two parties separately on Monday. “This conflict has lasted far too long and has major consequences for human dignity and for the affected families,” he tweeted.
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Boulet tweeted on June 15 that the two sides in the dispute had agreed to support the recommendation of the province’s head mediator — but union members rejected the conciliator’s recommendations and return-to-work protocol. In a June 29 statement, a union official said members found them “too weak” and the employer’s proposals were “unacceptable.”
Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, on Mount Royal’s northwest side, is the final resting place of nearly one million people. It is operated by the Fabrique de la paroisse Notre-Dame de Montréal, a Catholic not-for-profit organization which also operates the Notre-Dame Basilica.
Antoinette Romano and Michael Musacchio’s daughter Vanessa Musacchio died in May of 2021 at 26 and is buried at Notre-Dame-des-Neiges. “Just trying to go on, with grief in your heart and not being able to legally go into the cemetery is such a stress,” said Romano.
A picket sign carried by Musacchio summed up the sentiments of family members assembled: “7 months. No access. No burials. No respect. La Fabrique: Shame on you.”
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sschwartz@postmedia.com
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