Did the Ontario government essentially lose track of a Crown corporation that owns $1.3-billion of prime real estate, earns millions of dollars, and has spawned two subsidiaries, all competing aggressively in the lucrative death-care business?
The Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries was created by an act of the provincial legislature more than 180 years ago as a public trust and “property of the citizens.” Today, however, the organization styles itself as an independent non-profit corporation, its books withheld from public scrutiny, accountable to neither the public nor the legislature. Exactly what happens to surplus revenues, how much its board directors are paid, and how the proceeds of a $5-million sale of cemetery land in 2006 were used are all considered corporate secrets.
You can read more in an interesting story by Tom Blackwell, published in the National Post, at http://goo.gl/fBOir.
My thanks to Jim McKane for telling me about this story.
If you enjoyed this article, please share it with others. Tweet it, share it on Google+, Facebook or on your preferred social network.
Republishing of this article in newsletters, blogs, and elsewhere is allowed and encouraged, with a few minor restrictions. Details may be found at http://goo.gl/hoHH1.
Of course, if you haven’t done so already, you should join my email newsletter mailing list to stay current on my latest articles and announcements. You can also cancel at any time within seconds. I promise to never, ever send you any unrequested e-mail, other than newsletter updates.
