Military gravestones in Huntsville could be in line for a facelift. Part of this week’s federal budget earmarked almost $25 million over five years to go into cleaning, restoring and replacing military headstones. This is up from a budget of $1.2 million a year.
There are military headstones in cemeteries across Huntsville, including at the Hutcheson Memorial Cemetery on Muskoka Road 3 North.
In Canada, there are around 45,000 graves that need work, according to a Veterans Canada report released last year. If the funding hadn’t been increased, the report claimed it would take 17 years to get through the repairs. However, the Trudeau government says the cash injection means the work will be done over five years. The money is primarily for the graves of military members that are buried in Canada. A separate fund is for Canadian soldiers who died in the First and Second World War and are buried overseas.
No specific details about how much money will be available for municipalities to do the upgrades, but Huntsville town staff says when the time comes down the line they will be applying for part of the funding.