Cape Breton funeral director exonerated again after wrong body cremated

A funeral director in Sydney, N.S., has been cleared for a second time of any responsibility after he cremated the wrong body three years ago.

Joseph Curry lost his funeral director's licence after the incident at Forest Haven Memorial Gardensin 2021.

The Board of Registration of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, which regulates the industry, said Curry should have checked the identity of the contents after receiving a body bag from the medical examiner's service at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.

Curry disagreed and went to the Supreme Court. He said it was a tragedy, but it was the medical examiner's mistake and his licence should be reinstated.

The court agreed, but the regulator did not.

In a unanimous ruling this week, three Nova Scotia Court of Appealjustices said Curry was not responsible.

The court said provincial legislation places the responsibility for checking on the funeral home licence holder, not the funeral director.

The incident was the second wrongful cremation in the province since 2018.

Last year, after Curry was exonerated the first time, the Nova Scotia government said it was reviewing the regulations to ensure wrongful cremation does not happen again.