Northwest Territories Funeral Insurance

Northwest Territories  Bereavement Authority

The Northwest Territories government requires that all deaths in the territory be registered with the Registrar General of Vital Statistics. This is done to make the death legal and also to obtain a death certificate. In Northwest Territories, deaths are registered by funeral directors with the assistance of the deceased’s nearest relative or spouse. There is no fee for registering a death within one year from the date of death but beyond this period, death registration in the territory attracts $22.

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Northwest Territories Obituary and Mortality Rate

Northwest Territories is vastly under-populated; this shows in the number of deaths in the territory. The number of deaths in Northwest Territory from 2013 to 2017 increased from 199 to 241. Furthermore, the mortality rate per 1,000 population in the territory is low when compared to other jurisdiction in Canada. It increased from 4.5 in 2013 to 5.4 in 2017.

Obituaries in Northwest Territories are usually a notice a death published in a newspaper or online. They usually include a short biography of the deceased and in some cases, brief information about the funeral, burial or cremation.

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Northwest Territories Funeral Insurance Guide

The Health Services Administration of the Northwest Territories provides services that allow residents to apply for death certificates. You can call the Health Services Administration at 1-800-661-0830 to apply for Certificate of Death.

The Northwest Territories government also regulates the activities of funeral homes, cemeteries, crematoriums, and funeral directors and operators. You can download the Seniors’ Information Handbook or funeral insurance guide for additional information on funeral insurance in Northwest Territories.

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Northwest Territories Funeral Insurance News

The Member of Legislative Assembly for Frank Lake, Kevin O'Reilly, says that a law allowing for cremations in the territory is needed. He wants to know why such legislation has been delayed.

According to O'Reilly, the territory’s only funeral home wants to provide service locally but is unable to do that because of the absence of the legislation. Furthermore, every other jurisdiction in Canada has legislation that regulates cremation services, the only exceptions are Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

He added that the community affairs departments across Canada regulate cremation but the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs in the territory does not seem to be interested in drafting the legislation.

O'Reilly told the legislative assembly that he learned from the minister that the development of the legislation is not on the priority list mainly because there are other important issues. He added that it is not clear what the other important legislative changes are and how the regulation of cremation will fit in.

Furthermore, Kevin is surprised that the legislative process is not progressing because there are lots of cremation laws in Canada that can be used as a template and customized to suit the territory’s needs.

He questioned the government’s ability to move legislation forward stating that the duty of the legislative assembly is to make legislation. O'Reilly added that this is a golden opportunity to expand the local economy, improve services and also reduce the costs paid by residents.

However, Caroline Cochrane, MACA Minister, said she would like the process of forwarding the legislation on cremation to be easy but she is worried about stakeholder’s engagement.

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