Workers at troubled Sydney funeral home to be subject of inquiry

Some of the workers at a troubled funeral home in Sydney, N.S., are to be the subject of an inquiry.

The Nova Scotia Board of Registration for Embalmers and Funeral Directors is looking into possible professional misconduct at S.W. Chant and Son Funeral Home.

It's too soon to say who is being examined "because we're in such early stages of the inquiry," said Kortney Adams, the board's executive manager.

"Individuals are still being notified and we're still compiling all the evidence and putting it into a package to be issued."

A date for the inquiry and other details will be released later, she said.

Suspended licence

Cape Breton regional police launched a fraud investigation into the funeral home several weeks after a suspicious fire at the home in February.

Service Nova Scotia had already suspended the funeral home's licence to sell prepaid funerals over accounting issues, and the government suspended the home's operating licence after the fire.

Adams said the professional misconduct inquiry will not be affected by the police investigation.

The inquiry is not into the funeral home, but the professionals licensed to work there, she said.

"The police are going by [the] Criminal Code and criminal laws, whereas we're comparing to acts, regulations, policies and professional code of conduct," Adams said.