OTTAWA — The Defence Department has more than doubled the funeral stipend given to the families of soldiers killed in the line of duty.

The new rate of $12,700 will apply to all service members killed since the country began its involvement in Afghanistan in October 2001.

Last month, a controversy erupted in the House of Commons when it was revealed that some families had to pay out-of-pocket for some burial expenses.

A spokeswoman for Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor says the new death benefits program is also more flexible, picking up costs for things such as obituaries, flowers and receptions -- items that until this point had not been covered.

Isabelle Bouchard says defence staff tried to model the new benefits package on what the RCMP provides for its for officers and their families.

The old military rate of $4675 had not been revised since 1999.