Source: www.thestar.com
TORONTO, CANADA, October 14, 2010: Final rites for a loved one are a serious enough business without the added fear of breaking the law to follow custom. So Canada’s Hindu community has begun releasing a set of guidelines that allow the ancient practice of spreading ashes on water without running afoul of modern environmental concerns. “There was so much guilt that I experienced myself 14 years ago, when I spread my father’s ashes in Lake Ontario,” recalls Pandit Roopnauth Sharma, 58, who is leading the effort. “I didn’t know if it was legal. I was uncomfortable. People are always looking over their shoulder.”
The Canadian Hindu Federation, of which Sharma is president, has worked on the guidelines to educate its community, in co-operation with municipalities and the province. The first phase of those guidelines encourages mourners to pick a spot at least half a kilometre from shore. Other rules will be released in coming weeks and posted on the federation’s website and at temples, Sharma said.
The province has clarified its position on the Ministry of Consumer Affairs website. Approval isn’t needed to spread ashes on Crown land, such as provincial parks and conservation areas, the website says. But it’s not legal to do it on private land, or private waterways, without the owner’s consent. And “only a handful of leaves and flowers” should accompany the ashes.