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Provinces are spending millions of dollars every year to give thousands of Canadians a final sendoff — because no one else can or will.

“We make sure that anyone who dies without ties to family, or the means, receives a funeral that honours their life and respects their culture,” said Heather Klimchuk, the minister of human services in Alberta, which spent $5.2-million burying 1,577 people between April 2013 and March 2014. That’s up $1.2-million from the previous year.

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Some of the deceased were homeless, had no loved ones — or were without willing loved ones. Sometimes, they just couldn’t be identified at all. But Ms. Klimchuk said everyone deserves to be buried with dignity.

Many of the people we serve across the country live in poverty and struggle to afford housing or to put food on the table

Nearly all of Alberta’s taxpayer-funded burials, 1,515, had insufficient resources; 60 had no known next of kin. A further two did have family, but they refused to get involved.

The B.C. government spent $3.2-million in 2013/14 for just under 2,000 burials, a spokesperson for the ministry of social development and social innovation said. (B.C. authorities do not track reasons why funerals couldn’t be otherwise funded.)