According to Rick Cowan, vice-president of marketing for Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries [MPGC], the company has always been an independent non-profit group since its incorporation in 1871. Now a group of residents, Friends of Toronto Public Cemeteries, is hoping that the provincial government will agree with their interpretation that the company is a public trust.

“We were incorporated in 1871, and there had been revisions to the Corporations Act itself, but we’ve been adhering to the legislation as it pertains to corporations since we’ve been incorporated,” said Cowan.

Moore Park resident and community activist Margot Boyd says that, in 2006, a community member informed her that the cemetery was a public trust. Boyd, who has previously fought against Mount Pleasant on various matters (such as their new visitors centre and an incoming updated crematorium), began to search through local archives and came across legislation from the 19th century identifying MPGC as a public trust but could not find specific documentations indicating when it became a corporation. “Hopefully we’ll go to court now and we’ll get it all clarified,” said Boyd. “We’re asking for 11 declarations from a judge: that they’re a public trust, their legislation applies.…”

MPGC disagrees with Boyd’s interpretation of the legislation. “That group has a certain interpretation of previous acts of parliament that is different from our interpretation and how we’ve operated [since 1871],” said Cowan. “We have maintained that and believe it to be correct and they made a decision to litigate it.”

A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9.

If MPGC is found to be a public trust, the province of Ontario would take control of the group of cemeteries as a public asset. Currently, the organization’s books are not available for public scrutiny and are not accountable to any governing body — all of this would change.

“We the people would regain control of our public trust,” said Boyd.