REGINA -- New legislation will give more power to Saskatchewan coroners, including the authority to investigate the death of Saskatchewan residents in other jurisdictions.
The changes follow recommendations made in the 2018 review of the Office of the Chief Coroner, now known as the Saskatchewan Coroners Service.
“I’m proud of the work the Saskatchewan Coroners Service has undertaken to better serve residents across our province,” Chief Coroner Clive Weighill, who led the review before being appointed chief coroner, said. “At the same time, I acknowledge there is more work to do to boost public confidence in the service.”
The amendments includes the following changes:
- Grants the minister in charge the authority to appoint a deputy chief coroner who will step in, in the absence of the chief.
- Grants the chief coroner authority to appoint a supervising coroner in certain regions
- Authorizes coroners to investigate when a Saskatchewan resident dies in another jurisdiction, or if a body has been moved out of province.
- Gives coroners the authority the re-open investigations where new evidence has been brought forward
- Grants the spouse, parent, child, sibling or representative of a deceased person the authority to ask for a review by the chief coroner, of any coroners decision to not hold an inquest into the death of the person in question
The last provincial budget set aside $1.6 million to fund the recommendations made in an external review.
