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Definitely. Under the Funeral Services Act for the Province of
New Brunswick, all people who hold themselves out to be either
a funeral Director or an Embalmer have to have a license. |
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An embalmer is the person who does all the preparation work
with the human remains in accordance with the wishes of the
deceased or the family, while satisfying the criteria of the
Dept. of Health and the NB Funeral Directors and Embalmers
Act. They must hold a valid diploma attesting to the fact that
they are licensed to do this task. This diploma has to be
attained by either having attended a formal training program
(which lasts approximately two years) or have had apprenticed
in the funeral home for three years prior to 1990. This part
of the Act was changed in 1990 to eliminate the ‘old style’ of
training for the ‘universal style’, which ensures all
embalmers were given the same type of information during their
academic and internship program. |
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Everyone knows that modern funeral directors embalm, but very few people have accurate knowledge regarding the process. Embalming is a profession. This is demonstrated by the fact that an embalmer must be licensed to practice, just as are physicians or dentists. Furthermore, they must have received adequate training, served an apprenticeship and passed a written examination before they are eligible for a license. The function of embalming is simply to saturate all bodily tissues with carefully compounded fluids designed for this special purpose. The process results in the preservation of the body to a degree which is unbelievable to the lay person.
The preparation room in which the embalmer works may be
compared to the operating room of a hospital. It is
immaculately clean and provided with all the equipment and
supplies needed for the professional duties of the embalmer.
Only licensed embalmers and physicians are ever permitted in
the preparation room when it is in use. In addition to
embalming, which provides for the preservation of the body,
the embalmer is skilled in derma surgery, which deals with the
restoration of features which may have been eroded by disease
or mutilated by accident. |
It certainly is. Not unlike any other profession, if you are seeking legal advice, you would seek out a lawyer, not a secretary, or if you wanted health advice, you want to talk to a physician, not a receptionist. This is in the same context. All persons who deal with families in making arrangements or preparing human remains must have the credentials to do so, otherwise they are in contravention of the Funeral Service Act for the Province of New Brunswick. Every funeral home should have displayed openly the licenses for the operation of the funeral home. Funeral homes are policed by the Board for the Registration of Funeral Directors and Embalmers.
Any complaints or inquiries should be directed to that Board.
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A
funeral director is the person who is in charge of the funeral
arrangements. He/she does all the legal tasks relating to the
pre planning or at need planning of a funeral with the family.
They also deal with any funds coming from the family and going
to either a trust fund (in the event of a pre paid funeral) or
into the bank account for the funeral home for an ‘at need’
funeral. A funeral director is well versed in the legalities
of the many aspects of making funeral arrangements, such as
the cemeteries act, the coroners act, the acts pertaining to
the Department of Health and Department of Consumer Affairs.
All funeral requirements fall back on the funeral director to
ensure everything is done in a legal and ethical fashion. For
this reason, each funeral director must have displayed in the
funeral home where they work, a valid license which must be
renewed each year. In New Brunswick, no one can be a Funeral
Director without first being licensed as an embalmer. This is
the law. 
