Gates to the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery remain closed

After briefly opening to the public at the end of March, the gates to the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery are closed once again with no clear sign of reopening due to an ongoing labour dispute.

A recent devastating ice storm caused significant damage to hundreds of trees, making the cemetery too dangerous for the public, according to cemetery officials.

“Despite our work to repair the damages and clean the site, many of the cemetery’s 33 kilometres of roads are still blocked by trees and branches that present a significant danger to visitor,” said Daniel Granger spokesperson for the cemetery.

“In addition, several branches, broken by the ice, threaten to fall at any time, posing additional risks to visitors. We are truly saddened by this situation.”

While the ice storm was, April 6, two weeks ago, efforts to clean the site are not possible due to the ongoing labour dispute.

Maintenance workers have been on strike since January. In that time, no ground burials have taken place. Only mausoleum burials and cremations have continued.

“If we went back tomorrow, it would take at least a month with full staff working outside to clear all the roads, cut down the branches, and get the graves ready for all of the deceased that are in the freezer right now,” said Caroline Dube, spokesperson for the workers union.

Dube estimates close to 200 dead are waiting to be buried.

Talks between management and the union seem to be at a stalemate. The main sticking point, according to the union, remains job security and staff cuts.

“Money is not the biggest issue for us. The issue is we’re not enough staff to serve the people adequately. We’re not enough people to do the job and make the cemetery as beautiful as it was 20 years ago,” Dube said.

In a statement to Global News, officials representing the cemetery said: “We have invited, via the conciliator, the union representing our operating employees to accept a truce in their strike to make the site safe to allow the families of the deceased to return. Unfortunately, our proposal was declined by the union.”

“It looks like a bomb was dropped,” Michael Musacchio said. “There are branches everywhere. Trees are down. It’s going to take a long time to clean this up.”

Musacchio said he visits the cemetery regularly with his family and has to pay his respects to his lost daughter. He said he and other families feel unfairly trapped in the dispute and has been fighting for better access to the site for years.

“Let us in and figure it out. We should not be held hostage,” Musacchio said.

Cemetery officials said they would reopen the site as soon as it’s deemed safe. Until then, the gates will remain closed to the public.