City apologizes after memorial objects damaged at Whitehorse cemetery

The City of Whitehorse says "internal miscommunication" is to blame for some problems this year with maintenance at the local cemetery that has left some residents angry and upset.

The city also says it's doing an internal investigation into what happened.

Every fall, the city does maintenance work at the Grey Mountain Cemetery before closing the gates for the season. This year, however, things were a bit different, according to some residents.

Michele Emslie has been visiting the cemetery regularly since her late husband was buried there, 11 years ago. She also now visits the grave of her father who died in August.

Emslie said she was "devastated" by what she saw on a recent visit.

"On the side where they're buried, when you drove around the corner, there are masses of flowers and objects that were piled along the side of the road," she recalled.

"It was devastating to see all these items, removed from grave sites — memory objects, things that mean a lot to people, flowers — and they were just sort of discarded in these piles."

Emslie said she didn't expect to be so emotionally overwhelmed by the sight. She said she almost burst into tears.

"Like, there was a pinwheel, there was a porcelain statue of two children with an arm broken off, there was a hat — I mean, it's devastating," she said.

"There was an elderly woman leaving when I got there and she couldn't even talk, she was so upset."

Some small statues at the cemetery on Thursday. (Kanina Holmes/CBC)

Emslie said she understands the need to clean and maintain the cemetery, by removing things like old wreaths or dead flowers. She also says that cemetery employees have typically done an "exemplary job" taking good care of the facility. So she's puzzled by what she saw this year.

"I've never seen anything like it."

Other city residents, including a mayoral candidate, took to social media to voice their anger and frustration with the city and share pictures of broken or discarded objects.

In an email to CBC News, a city spokesperson said "several" personal items at the cemetery were damaged "as a result of an internal miscommunication."

The city also issued a public statement this week, saying it "deeply regrets what occurred and acknowledges that it should not have happened."

It apologized and said it was doing an internal investigation into the situation.

Looking down on Grey Mountain Cemetery. (Travis Burke/CBC)

"Staff were on-site at the cemetery throughout the weekend to help individuals identify personal items and restore them to grave sites," the statement reads.

"We will continue to make every effort to support affected individuals and remedy the situation."

The city's response doesn't mollify Emslie. She thinks people should get an in-person apology if that's what they want.

"Because it's too late to put things back," she said.

"This porcelain figure that I saw that the arm is broken off — I mean, how are you going to replace that? You can't replace these things."