The province's funeral-home watchdog has dismissed a complaint from a customer upset about a Toronto funeral home's practice of charging an extra SARS fee during the outbreak of the disease.
Henry Lotin, a 44-year-old federal civil servant, complained to the Board of Funeral Services after he was charged an $85 "special-care" fee for the funeral of his 85-year-old mother, Zelda. She died of heart trouble in May, when severe acute respiratory syndrome was dominating the headlines.
Staff at Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel said the fee was for extra costs caused by precautions related to SARS -- precautions Mr. Lotin agreed were necessary. But he disagreed with passing these costs on to grieving families.
"It's not about the money that I spent. It's strictly about that particular funeral home taking advantage of deceaseds' families," Mr. Lotin said.
Last week, the Board of Funeral Services said that after an investigation, it had determined the fee was justified. Mr. Lotin said he hasn't decided whether to appeal, adding that he hoped the funeral home would donate the amount collected for SARS fees to hotel workers or nurses affected by the outbreak.
While he would not discuss individual complaints, board registrar Joseph Richer said that under a policy passed in 1990, funeral homes are allowed to charge more for special procedures required because of infectious diseases.
The board prefers that funeral homes not charge such fees, he said, but if they do, they are allowed to charge only enough to recover their costs.
Michael Benjamin, who owns Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel, said the extra-care charge covered the additional masks, gowns, goggles, body pouches and overtime required by the stricter disinfectant procedures put in place to protect staff.
"When the SARS epidemic hit, it was necessary to institute a level of precautions that was higher than what the standard was. It meant additional equipment, additional staff time, additional precautions -- and those translated into costs," Mr. Benjamin said, adding that his staff added 50 different procedures during the SARS outbreak.
He said the fee has not been charged since hospitals went back to normal procedures at the end of August.
Other funeral homes had mixed reactions to the extra payment.
"I don't see anything wrong with it," said Doug McCann, owner of Aftercare Funeral Alternatives Inc., adding that he did not charge extra during the SARS outbreak. He said the industry often charges different rates for different services, such as major reconstructive work.
Scarborough's Highland Funeral Home made headlines when someone attending a service there in April turned out to be carrying the virus. One man who then came down with the disease died, and dozens were put into quarantine.
Doug Manners, the home's managing funeral director, said his business did not considered charging an extra fee. "Regardless of what a person passes away from, we have never passed those costs on," Mr. Manners said. "We treat all people the same."
Jeff Gray