New legislation should pave the way to bury more unclaimed bodies from St. John's morgue

The Newfoundland and Labrador government passed legislation this week that's aimed at tackling the persisting problem of unclaimed bodies being kept in a St. John's morgue.

The legislation passed on Tuesday and then received royal assent on Wednesday.

"While this bill is about providing a process to address unclaimed remains, in doing so we cannot lose sight of the individuals and the impact of the deliberations in this House that will have on the individuals, their families and their friends," Health Minister John Hogan said in the House of Assembly on Monday during the bill's debate.

He said bodies can go unclaimed and remain stored by Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services for a number of reasons, including the inability to find the next of kin, families not wanting to claim the body for personal reasons or financial reasons. Some bodies in storage are part of an investigation by the Chief Medical Examiner, he added.

"When the health authority has exhausted all options to find a person to take responsibility of a body, this can lead to unclaimed remains being stored for lengthy periods," said Hogan.

In March, CBC News first reported 28 bodies were being stored in freezer units in an alleyway on hospital property due to a lack of space in the actual morgue, which doubles as the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Over the summer, the freezers were relocated to the parking garage and a wall was built around it.

On Monday, Hogan said there were approximately three dozen bodies in storage and the new bill would allow the health authority to bury about 20 per cent of those bodies. The other bodies are being overseen by a public trustee, who is working on arranging burial, as well as bodies that are part of the Chief Medical Examiner's examinations.

"The purpose of the legislation is to plug that gap to allow NLHS to deal with those remains who either aren't going to the public trustee for whatever reason, or aren't going to the Chief Medical Examiner because they don't fall within that piece of legislation," he said. "If they're already at a funeral home, they're not the authority of the NLHS."

Through an amendment to the Provincial Health Authority Act, Bill 85 authorizes the health authority to determine which bodies are unclaimed and allows the health authority to dispose of the bodies, including making arrangements with a cemetery operator to inter the remains.

The other side of the legislation is an amendment to the Fatalities Investigations Act, which clarifies the role of the Chief Medical Examiner when it comes to disposing of certain bodies. Moreover, the act authorizes the Chief Medical Examiner to consult with the health authority about certain unclaimed bodies and make recommendations about their disposition.

The amendment also protects the Chief Medical Examiner, a medical examiner, an investigator, officer or employee of the Chief Medical Examiner's office from liability, "when exercising a power or duty, in good faith, under the Act," reads the bill.

Hogan said the amendments will come into force on Jan. 1.

During Monday's debate, PC health critic Barry Petten said he welcomed the change that will deal with something he described as an embarrassment to the province, but also argued it also should never have happened.

"I'm glad to see this legislation coming through, but I think it's important to speak of how we got here, too," he said. "This shouldn't happen again."

NDP Leader Jim Dinn also raised a question about how the price for burial would be determined.

"Would this be in consultation with the cemetery owners and with the funeral homes as well?" he asked.

Hogan responded that the rates would be similar to what the public would pay.

The amendment follows on a promise Hogan made in the House of Assembly in November that legislation would be passed to allow the province to take care of the bodies that are left unclaimed. 

"There is a loophole, really, that there are bodies over there that can't be dealt with by the Chief Medical Examiner, by NLHS or by the public trustee," Hogan said at the time.

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