The city of Vaudreuil-Dorion has been working on plans to build a Muslim cemetery for close two years — but first, they need a zoning change.
"We need space to bury our dead," said Mehmet Deger, president of Dorval Mosque.
There are six Muslim graveyards in Quebec, five of which are in the Montreal area.
Deger tells CJAD 800 that those graveyards are starting to get full.
"They don't have that many graveyards left for the Muslims," he said.
The purposed site of the cemetery is four and a half hectares of farmland near the Saint-Jean Baptiste Catholic Cemetery on Saint Antoine.
The land must first get approval to be rezoned, and the city of Vaudreuil-Dorion must hold public consultations.
"There's space for everybody, so why don't we put together two cemetery — not together but one beside the other one — I think it's the right place to put a Muslim cemetery over there," said Vaudreuil-Dorion City Councillor Francois Seguin.
He added, "Everybody is allowed to live in Vaudreuil-Dorion, so I think everybody is allowed to die and get (buried) in Vaudreuil-Dorion."
According to the 2011 National-Household Survey, Two-thirds of Canada's 1 million Muslim population lived in the three largest census metropolitan areas combined-Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Montreal had just over 221,000 Muslims living in the area.
La Presse reports the cemetery project is being pursued by the owner of the land, Cadillac Investments Inc., on behalf of the Islamic Cultural Center of Vaudreuil-Soulanges.
CJAD 800 reached out to the Center, and they did not return the call as of the publication of this article.