The funeral for Const. Jennifer Kovach cost $163,000 – or $77,000 more than was budgeted – but Guelph’s police chief says he’s sticking by every penny spent.
“What we saw in the death of Jennifer is something that is irreplaceable, and in my view there is no cost or no value that we can put on one’s life,” Chief Bryan Larkin tells CTV.
Kovach died last month when her cruiser crashed into a city bus on Imperial Road. A funeral held seven days after her death drew thousands of onlookers and well-wishers to the Sleeman Centre.
The investigation into the exact circumstances of the crash remains ongoing.
Larkin says most of the excess spending was on necessary items like rental chairs and accommodation expenses for out-of-town officers relieving Guelph police during the funeral.
Other items taking the funeral over budget included food, beverage and promotional materials.
A number of items were also donated, for which Larkin says he’d like to thank the community.
On Guelph’s streets, residents say they sympathize with the police service and understand the need for a major public funeral, but wish the final bill had been a bit lower.
“It’s upsetting that she lost her life in such a tragic way, but it is a large amount of money,” said Olivia Drag.
“If they could have done it more cost-effectively, with still such a beautiful service, that would have been preferred.”
Resident Brandon Barbeau questions what else the money could have been used for.
“I’m not trying to be disrespectful to Const. Kovach, but still it’s a lot of money. There’s probably more important things it can be used for,” he said.
Larkin says police will work with the City of Guelph to figure out how to cover the costs of the funeral.
