The 19 directors from cities across B.C. failed to meet a requirement to do a training program every two years
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B.C.’s consumer protection agency has fined 19 funeral directors and embalmers for failing to complete proper training. Five of them were fined more heavily because they had been found in contravention of the rules before.
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Consumer Protection B.C. issued fines ranging from $400 to $1,000 against each for failing to complete training that is required every two years under the province’s Cremation, Interment and Funeral Service Regulation. The training involves six hours in a program about funeral services and six more hours if the director is licensed as an embalmer.
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On top of the financial penalties, the directors must complete the required training.
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The directors are associated with funeral homes and cremation services in cities across B.C., including several Metro Vancouver municipalities, Courtenay, Sidney, Fort St. John and Trail.
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Bradd Tuck of the B.C. Funeral Association said 19 seems like a large number of funeral directors, but it actually represents just three per cent of the nearly 500 licensees in the province.
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Of those on the posted list, some are either retired or on leave, or were between employers and might not have had access to work email reminders from Consumer Protection B.C., said Tuck. He said at least half of the 19 who were cited are not currently working in funeral services.
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Still, the B.C. Funeral Association wants changes to how training is delivered. Tuck said the association “would like to see approval of course accreditation be shifted to the designated education provider rather than the regulatory body.
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“We believe evaluation of whether education meets the needs of continuing education should be done by funeral professionals,” said Tuck.
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Funeral providers have also asked for better communication about education status of licensees and easier reporting. “Currently, only licensees can access their education status by request,” said Tuck. “A system that informs funeral providers of the status of their licensees’ education would increase compliance and ensure that changes in employment status and contact are adequately reported.”
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Last year, the association offered 34 credit hours of education free to its members.
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Overall, the association would like to see regulatory reforms that reduce the administrative burden for those who deliver “a compassionate and dignified essential service.” The group is working with the attorney-general on those reforms and hopes changes to the law are coming soon, said Tuck.
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By law, the funeral directors can ask for a reconsideration of the decision within 30 days. All penalties collected by Consumer Protection B.C. go into a consumer advancement fund.
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A list of the names of directors and embalmers cited can be found at consumerprotectionbc.ca.
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