Most (if not all) Funeral Service Regulatory Boards in Canada require that a deceased person be placed in a suitable enclosed container prior to the cremation.
This can be a wood casket or an alternative ‘cremation container’ that meets the requirements found in the Public Health Act.
Simply put ~ the cremation container must be rigid, sealable and combustable. It has to be strong enough to hold and move the human remains and cannot pose any health hazards.
More information on these specifications can be found here.
Did you Know? You CAN provide your own Cremation Container!
By law, you are allowed to supply your own combustable cremation container – as long as it follows the rules. You can choose to order it online or make it yourself. You will not only save a pile of money, an online suppler will have a better selection than a funeral home.
Should you decide that the best option for you is to purchase directly from the funeral home, keep in mind that a funeral provider’s showroom has to display at least six different containers (full or corner samples), and one of them has to be their lowest-priced model. All of the containers must also have clear price tags.
“If the funeral provider does not have a separate room to display their caskets and urns, they have to share pricing information about the containers they sell in a public manner, such as in a book, in a brochure or online”. (As stated by the Consumer Protection BC Website)
This regulation is in place for a reason…
So yes, you DO need a cremation container for your loved one but it does NOT have to be a casket and you CAN provide it yourself.