"Val, our system is broken."

This is what Valerie Paolinelli remembers her doctor saying to her after her husband died at their residence in Prince Rupert in March 2024.

Affected by restrictive regulations, the absence of a local funeral provider, and the usual staff shortages in the North, grieving families in Prince Rupert, such as Paolinelli鈥檚, find doors closing on them during their times of sorrow.

"My poor husband lay on the floor for 16 hours. After 16 hours, his stomach was bloating with gas. His face was distorting. There was fluid leaking out of him, and we had to sit there and watch that happen," she cried in a horrified voice.

Unstoppable tears cascaded down her cheeks as she remembered the dreadful incident from six months ago.

Her husband, Joe Paolinelli, experienced complex colon and heart complications and passed away on his recliner in their home on 11th Avenue.

She and her son immediately started CPR and called 911. Paramedics arrived very quickly. She says the responders tried everything possible, but Joe's condition was irreversible. The RCMP, ambulance, the coroner, and the victim support worker responded promptly, too.

By that point, Joe had a breathing tube stuck down his throat.

"But everybody left and just left that in his throat, and he was still lying on our floor."

"Before my other grandson came, my son himself had to remove that tube from his dad's throat, which sort of started off really badly."

"They [the ambulance attendants] said they weren't allowed to take Joe. And I said, 'Well, what are we supposed to do?' I didn't know what we were supposed to do. I just presumed the ambulance would have taken him right to the morgue.鈥�

"Under BC鈥檚 Coroners Act, BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) paramedics are required to leave emergency medical intervention devices, including intubation tubes and IVs, in place, when, despite our best efforts, a person does not survive," said Bowen Osoko, BCEHS manager, media and issues communications. BCEHS's policy also reflects this legal requirement in events of sudden deaths.

He states that paramedics cannot transport a deceased person, except under specific circumstances, as the coroner needs to assess the situation to determine if an investigation is necessary.

"Our heartfelt condolences are with this family in their grief," said Osoko.

PLAN B

Val and her son tried to reach the nearest funeral home to Rupert, which is in Terrace, approximately 150km away, all night.

Someone from Mackay鈥檚 Funeral Service in Terrace reached Val's house the next afternoon at 2 p.m. to pick up and transport Joe's body to the funeral home for embalming, cremation, or burial, and arrange the viewing service for the family.

"It's not only the shock of losing somebody, you're talking to them one minute, and they're gone in the next few minutes, but to have them laying on your floor for 16 hours. When nature takes over, and it's not very pretty, the things can happen, right? So it was a very difficult time... We're definitely traumatized over that," said Val.

Like many North Coast residents, she appreciates Mackay's tireless work in Terrace to serve the whole region. However, she finds the problem here is that Rupert does not have a funeral director or morgue to keep the body while the family waits for someone to become available from Terrace.

"We have an employee on call 24 hours a day if there is an emergency or home removal. We make arrangements to have the deceased picked up as soon as possible," Mackay鈥檚 said.

Mackay鈥檚 Funeral Services has been the only crematorium in the Northwest since 1988. For some communities, including Prince Rupert it is also the only provider for embalming, burial, and organizing other funeral service arrangements.

Mackay's is currently providing all-around funeral services to Terrace, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Smithers, Burns Lake, Houston, Haida Gwaii, and surrounding areas. They have three full-time staff members and one for after-hours removals.

Picking up a deceased person from Prince Rupert, embalming, viewing, cremation and casket cost approximately  $8,500.

"There has been a shortage of funeral directors right across Canada for many years," said MacKay's. 

They have noticed that positions for licensed directors and embalmers are open all over Canada, and there is a shortage of people entering the profession.

Val Paolinelli worked as a school meals supervisor, and Joe was an automotive body man and the owner of a kayaking business. He was also very passionate about soccer.

Val said her doctor informed her there is a large morgue at the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital and there is no reason to deny its use to a family awaiting funeral services.

FOREPLANNING

Vince Arimare, another Rupert resident, lost his wife and then his mother in close succession.

"If you die outside and are pronounced dead outside of the hospital, the ambulance will not bring the body up to the morgue at the hospital. They wait for Mackay's Funeral Home in Terrace, and that's problematic because sometimes it takes quite some time," said Arimare.

His doctors had already informed him about his wife鈥檚 and mother鈥檚 serious conditions, so he made arrangements for his wife to receive end-of-life care at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver and for his mom to be in a hospital in Kitimat. He mentioned that the subsequent arrangements went smoothly in Vancouver, and in Kitimat due to its proximity to Mackay's in Terrace, which is just a 45-minute drive away.

Arimare is concerned about sudden deaths in Rupert, as there is no local funeral director to support them.

Terrace is not an easily accessible drive from Rupert, particularly in the winter as the Yellowhead highway runs alongside the Skeena River without barricades in some sections, making it dangerous. There are also occasional road closures.

Additionally, to drive a deceased person to Terrace, a vehicle must meet specific regulations and requires a transport permit from Consumer Protection B.C. It can be overwhelming for someone who has just lost a loved one.

Another resident says it's not just the lack of funeral services that can be traumatizing, but the lack of transportation options for getting to the city.

Dawn Eby-Quast wants to bring attention to the challenges of having only one functioning flight into the city. She shared the difficulty of waiting for transportation for family members to arrive after her husband's death. She questions whether the government can provide extra transportation options for grieving families.

This is the first instalment of a special report examining the state of deathcare in Prince Rupert. In Part 2, we will look at the obstacles, both legislative and practical, that have left the city without local services for the past three years. In Part 3, we will look at potential solutions and what is being done both locally to address the problem and elsewhere to alleviate similar situations.