The M.D. of Opportunity is updating its cemetery rules to stop local residents from hoarding large blocks of burial plots.
Kimball Newberry, director of public works, presented the new Cemetery Bylaw 2026-07 to council during its regular meeting on June 8. The new regulations officially repeal and replace the municipality’s old 2017 cemetery bylaw.
The policy shift comes just as a new section of the Muskwa Cemetery prepares to open, which will provide 149 newly available plots.
According to the public works report presented to council, some residents were taking advantage of the old rules by reserving as many as 10 burial plots at a single time.
During the meeting, Newberry said this creates a major logistical nightmare for the municipality.
“When they have a family member pass, they might reserve five or six, or even eight plots. But some of these people might not die for 50 years,” Newberry said. “It blocks off that area because we can’t get in front to actually dig the plot.”
Public works staff cannot safely bring heavy equipment in to dig graves in the plots located directly in front of or behind these heavily reserved blocks. This effectively makes large areas of the cemetery completely unusable and leaves blocks of land sitting empty for decades.
To fix the issue, the new bylaw says a person or estate can only reserve a maximum of two plots at a time. The new plots must also be chosen in consecutive order, preventing people from hand-picking plots scattered across different parts of the cemetery.
“The maximum is two plots reserved at a time, and that should eliminate a lot of these spots where we can’t put people because it gets blocked in,” Newberry said.
The updated rules do include a few compassionate exceptions for grieving families. A surviving spouse can choose to purchase a reserve plot right next to their late partner if a space is available. Surviving parents of a dependent child buried in the cemetery can also buy an adjoining reserve plot for their future use.
The law also grants the M.D. the power to completely suspend the sale of any reserved plots through a simple council resolution if the remaining burial spaces start running low. Plots cannot be transferred to anyone outside of the immediate family, though residents can cancel their reservation at any time to receive a refund of their original reservation fee.
The M.D. also looked into the fees charged by surrounding municipalities. Research shows that nearby towns and counties charge anywhere between $500 and $3,000 just to open a burial plot, and another $500 to $3,000 to close it. Buying a reserve plot typically costs around $300 in those surrounding regions.
Administration said during the meeting that while the M.D. of Opportunity does not currently charge those steep opening and closing fees, the new bylaw does require residents to pay a fee in full when reserving a plot. This ensures the municipality retains official records and physical control over how the grounds are organized and maintained.
Council went through a fast series of votes to pass all three readings of the new bylaw during the meeting. Deputy Reeve Brendan Powell moved the first reading. Councillor Leo Alook moved the second reading, and Councillor Robin Guild moved for unanimous consent to proceed. Councillor Darlene Jackson moved the third and final reading to officially pass the law into effect.
Armaan Khanna
Local Journalism Initiative
Reporter