During any public health crisis, funeral professionals have stepped up in their role as frontline workers. For the COVID-19 pandemic, this meant liaising with frontline healthcare workers to ensure that the deceased of the virus were safely, respectfully and properly cared for. Across Canada, despite a shortage of personal protective equipment and significant losses in revenue, funeral professionals responded to the health crisis in order to provide dignified burials and cremations to the deceased of COVID-19. 

As the economy begins to reopen and restrictions on gatherings are lifted, it is likely that funerals and celebrations of life will resume with social distancing guidelines put in place. This will help funeral providers to resume their businesses, however the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has had large financial impacts on Canadian seniors. With stock markets crashing and many seniors losing their retirement savings, their situation has become more precarious. While the one-time payments through the Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) has helped seniors in the short-term, their long-term prospects are likely not going to recover for years.

The Funeral Service Association of Canada (FSAC) has been at the forefront over the past years of advocating the Government of Canada to make key changes to support seniors. With their savings significantly reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more necessary than ever for the government to support seniors in the short and long-term. Seniors need to be able to save for the length of their retirement, but many also are looking to save for their own funerals, as they do not want to leave the financial burden on their family. We propose the following recommendations to help seniors save and to support their end of life arrangements in order to provide for a dignified funeral.