Quebecers spend $144 million on funeral services; the average cost of funeral services in Quebec is 18% higher than in the rest of Canada.
A symposium by the Gatineau Friendship Centre focuses on funeral costs; the CLSCs Le Moulin and Hull launch a project to create a funeral cooperative.
Formation and charter
January: Formation of a steering committee. March: First public assembly. November: Charter granted and first general meeting (100 members).
Launch of a recruitment campaign with a goal of reaching 1,000 members.
First board meeting; 500 members by February; start of negotiations for the Sainte-Bernadette presbytery.
June: Setup of the first premises; 2,000 members reached. September: Hiring of the first embalmer and opening of the first funeral home.
Assistance to Chénéville; three-year rental of a funeral salon in Pointe-Gatineau.
First surplus ($1,952); the cooperative becomes profitable after three years.
Funeral salons open in Hull, Gatineau, and a satellite location in Saint-Pierre-de-Wakefield.
Relocation of the Gatineau salon to 664 Maloney East Boulevard.
End of the general manager’s term; 4,600 members; 277 funerals handled and 100 prearrangements.
Revitalization of the FCFQ; merger approved with the Northern Cooperative.
SCI acquisitions; new complex project on La Vérendrye Boulevard to compete with American firms.
Opening of the multifunctional complex; two FCFQ Merit Awards; creation of the employees’ union.
Partnership with Jardins du Souvenir; first collective agreement signed.
Acquisitions of Villeneuve, Laviolette, and Robinson; implementation of a new management system; two FCFQ Merit Awards.
Opening of the complex at 95 Cité-des-Jeunes Boulevard; celebration of the 20th anniversary; 42-day lockout.
Creation of a joint conflict resolution committee; CFO becomes the largest funeral cooperative in Canada (712 funerals, $9.5 million in assets).
Official opening of the new Lac Beauchamp Pavilion, located at 750 Maloney Boulevard East.
Takeover of former prearranged contracts from Jardins du Souvenir.
Launch of the website cfo.coop; television feature on the cooperative’s history.
CFO named Funeral Cooperative of the Year in Quebec.
Acquisition of Gauvreau et Fils and Daniel Brunet (former SCI locations).
Adoption of a sustainable development policy and a permanent ecological shift.
Opening in Saint-André-Avellin; purchase of a cremation furnace.
Relocation of the Buckingham location; expansion of the Hull columbarium.
Acquisition of the last private funeral home; membership reaches 20,742.
Prearrangement portfolio reaches $21.5 million; new pavilions and launch of INFOjuridic.
Closure of the La Pêche and Maloney East funeral homes; beginning of a reconstruction project.
40th anniversary celebration; five-year collective agreement signed and new HR strategy implemented.
Ouverture officielle du nouveau Pavillon Lac Beauchamp situé au 750, boul. Maloney Est, Gatineau, Québec