St. James Cemetery occupies a very picturesque and precarious part of Toronto. It hugs the bank of the Don Valley where Rosedale Valley Road meets the Bayview extension. Grave markers cling to the wall of the valley and can be seen from Rosedale Valley Road, Bayview Avenue or from Riverdale Farm. St James Cemetery was opened in 1844 and is the oldest cemetery in Toronto that is still in use.

Unfortunately, the precarious perch of many of the gravesites has given rise to what is believed to be the largest disinterment of human remains in Ontario’s history. Due to erosion, there was a risk of exposure of some of the cremated remains at some of the sites. Therefore, the cremated remains of over 500 people who were interred between 1960 and 2010 are being removed and put into storage. The burial location of each burial site is being marked and the remains are to be reinterred after shoring work has been completed. It is estimate that the cost of the operation will be $2.5m.

As required by the Bereavement Authority of Ontario, which regulates funeral homes and cemeteries, most of the relatives of the deceased affected by the project have been notified. However, some relatives simply couldn’t be located. The slope stabilization project started in July 2021 and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2022.

Thank you for reading.

Paul Trudelle