What happens in Ontario after bodies go unclaimed [Video]

Two or three times a year, Jean-René Berthiaume gets a call about an unclaimed body. 

A fourth-generation funeral director in Hawkesbury, Ont., Berthiaume routinely works with families on the final arrangements for their loved ones. 

But these rare calls involve people whose bodies have not been spoken for by a friend or relative for reasons logistical, financial or personal. 

Whatever the scenario — and no two cases are alike, he says — Berthiaume ensures they are laid to rest properly, making good on a lesson he learned from his grandmother. 

“You have to respect everybody,” he said. “The dignity you bring toward someone who passes away will define who you are at the core.”

A label of last resort

Ontario recorded 1,183 unclaimed bodies …