BC NDP’s candidate for Surrey-Serpentine River Baltej Dhillon and its candidate for Surrey North Rachna Singh on Thursday announced “a new commitment to remove barriers that prevent families from practicing their religious and cultural funeral rites after they’ve lost a loved one,” adding that their party “will do this by working towards making ash scattering areas and sites accessible in waters across the province, beginning in Surrey.”

But BC Conservative members and supporters hit back on social media by pointing out that then-Surrey mayor Doug McCallum had made a similar announcement for Surrey back in October 2022.

McCallum had announced that he and his party “have formally recognized Fraser Riverbank in Brownsville Bar Park, located at 11931 Old Yale Road in Surrey, as a dedicated place for communities to scatter cremated remains of their deceased loved ones.”

McCallum had noted at the time: “Due to the lack of a designated location for these ceremonies, in many cases people would secretly and dangerously scatter them in the ocean or other adjacent waterways.”

However, it is not clear whether McCallum’s announcement of the ‘dedicated place’ was followed up with any concrete action because just after that he and his party were defeated in the municipal election.

It seems that the NDP decided to borrow that idea from McCallum.

Dhillon said: “Losing someone you love is extremely difficult, and you and your family should be able to mourn with respect to your culture and traditions. You should be able to honour your loved ones. That’s why the BC NDP would make ash scattering areas available, so you can send your loved ones off with the respect and dignity they deserve.”

The NDP said: “Sikh and Hindu communities have long practiced last rituals that involve immersing the ashes of their loved ones in water. The BC NDP will work to remove barriers to these important rites across the province by working with local governments, First Nations and local communities, and taking into account any environmental impacts.”

“When you’re already going through loss, the last thing that you should have to worry about is if you can or cannot say goodbye to a family member or a friend in the way they would’ve wanted,” said Singh. ”Every community mourns differently, and the BC NDP is committed to respecting cultural practices across the province.”

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