When someone dies, the funeral director invites the person declaring the death to complete the form Application for the simplified forwarding of information relative to the death. Following reception of the form, the Directeur de l’état civil notifies certain Government of Canada Departments.
Therefore, it is not necessary to provide these organizations with a death certificate as proof of death.
Services Québec and the Directeur de l’état civil have entered into agreements with Service Canada (under the responsibility of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada), the Canada Revenue Agency and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. Under these agreements, the Directeur de l'état civil is authorized to forward them information for the following purposes:
- to cancel the deceased's registration for the Health Insurance Plan;
- for the purposes of the Income Tax Act;
- to update the Indian Register.
The declarant of the death must complete the Declaration of Death for the death to be entered in the Québec register of civil status. Once the death is entered in the register, the Directeur de l'état civil du Québec notifies Service Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency of the death.
If the declarant also completed the Application for the simplified forwarding of information relative to the death, the Directeur may also notify Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.
Since departments and agencies will have been notified of the death, the deceased's close relatives will not have to provide them with a death certificate as proof of death. However, they may have to contact these departments and agencies to apply for benefits or to terminate them.
The forms Declaration of Death and the Application for the simplified forwarding of information relative to the death are given to the deceased's relatives by the funeral director.
