Sarnia council has asked staff to report back with more information, before deciding whether or not to approve bylaw amendments to allow aquamation at McCormack Funeral Home.
Aquamation, an alternative to flame cremation, sees a body dissolved in a solution of 95 per cent water and five per cent alkaline.
Robert Gilpin, of Gilpin Funeral Chapel, expressed concerns about safety if the equipment is located within the footprint of the George Street facility.
He said "there was -- last week -- an explosion of one of these machines in Shawville, Quebec."
"I'm not against, or opposed to, aquamation... I do want to make that clear," Gilpin said. "Nor am I smearing any of the other funeral homes in the community. I just am sort of, um, in the learning process myself. But, I do know that there was an explosion of one of these machines."
When fact checking Gilpin's statement, Sarnia News Today was unable to find recent articles.
There were articles published by The Equity and CHIP FM about an explosion at Hayes Funeral Homes' crematorium in Shawville in 2020.
Both stated the cause of the explosion as a malfunction or defect in a high-pressure machine, but neither article identified the type of machine.
A representative for McCormack Funeral Home said he was unaware of any incident in Quebec.
He added that an aquamation machine in Newcastle, Ontario has been operating since 2017 "right in the middle of the city" and "they've had no issues."
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You have a couple weeks to submit your thoughts on what the city's role should be in the future of Chris Hadfield Airport.
Council directed staff to notify the public the issue will be discussed at its February 10 meeting.
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Sarnia council has asked staff to invite the Downtown Committee to make a presentation at an upcoming meeting.
Council concluded it didn't know enough about the group to decide whether to provide input on its establishment, or mandate.
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A road diet and bicycle lanes on Michigan Avenue between Colborne and Indian Roads have been approved.
The four lane road will be reduced to two lanes with a center turn lane and dedicated bicycle lanes.
On-street parking will be removed, there will be accessibility improvements at Colborne Road, and safety improvements at the Indian Road intersection.
Councillor Bill Dennis, Dave Boushy and Terry Burrell voted against the recommendation.
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You can lace up your skates and glide across some neighbourhood ice rinks worry free now.
Sarnia council asked staff to implement a program to allow for the installation of ice rinks in identified city-owned park spaces free of charge.
The program will allow current rinks, like one built in Wiltshire Park, to continue to operate.
"I just want to say thank you to the neighbour at Wiltshire Park that built a nice rink for the kids," councillor George Vandenberg said when submitting his motion for approval. "Unfortunately, somebody complained about it and then bylaw went in there."
He said this will allow the rink to stay and the kids to keep playing.
"We've got a great year for lots of ice. A great opportunity for kids to get out of the house and do what they should be doing," Vandenberg added.
Council's decision was unanimous.
Approval of each rink is at the discretion of the Community Services general manager.
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Sarnia's commitment and allegiance as a community to a sovereign Canada is to be forwarded across the country.
Council directed the mayor to write a letter affirming the stance, and send it to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, members of parliament and provincial parliament.
Councillor Adam Kilner agreed to amend his motion, to send the letter to AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario), FCM (Federation of Canadian Municipalities), and the Embassy of the United States of America in Ottawa as well.
Council also approved Mayor Mike Bradley's suggestion to ask every community in Canada to use this Canada Day -- the 158th -- to send a very clear message that we're standing up for Canada and believe in Canada.