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OTTAWA — A change to the Canada Pension Plan to provide a flat-rate death benefit to help low-income families cover funeral costs falls short of what funeral homes say is needed to cover the cost of a final farewell.

After meetings this week, federal and provincial finance ministers set the death benefit at a flat $2,500, regardless of how long or how much someone had paid into CPP.

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Leading up to the meeting, the Funeral Services Association of Canada lobbied governments to raise the value to $3,580 — back to what it was in 1997 before finance ministers of the day imposed a sliding scale benefit based on an individual’s contributions to the CPP, capped at a maximum benefit of $2,500.

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The association also asked that the benefit be tied to inflation so its value would increase with the cost of living.

Finance ministers didn’t agree. And now there are creeping concerns the decision will mean more people won’t be able to afford a funeral, which costs an average $6,000.