BC’s New Chief Coroner Faces Pressure from Critics

A critic of the BC Coroners Service says he hopes the appointment of a doctor as the new chief coroner will bring a new direction, but wants to know how Dr. Jatinder Baidwan will address the province’s low autopsy rate.

“What I'll be asking him, as a scientist, as somebody who has committed to providing data to inform decision-makers, is ‘What are you going to do to dramatically increase and improve the rate of autopsies?’” said Richard Fowler, a B.C. lawyer who frequently defends people charged with homicide.

Baidwan’s appointment follows the retirement of Lisa Lapointe, a lawyer who headed the coroners service since 2011.

Baidwan has been chief medical officer for the BC Coroners Service for seven years, but he is not a forensic pathologist — a specially trained doctor who examines the bodies of people who died suddenly or violently.

The BC Coroners Service has been under pressure from several critics over its low autopsy rate: British Columbia has the second-lowest overall rate in Canada, with just 3.2 per cent of deaths subject to autopsy. B.C.’s autopsy rate has also been falling, from 7.2 per cent in 2010 to 3.2 per cent in 2022. Autopsies are considered the most effective way to determine causes of death, according to the National Association of Medical Examiners.

When it comes to autopsies for suspected overdoses, there is a much wider gap between B.C. and other provinces. While other Canadian provinces perform autopsies for 60 to 100 per cent of suspected overdose cases, the BC Coroners Service orders autopsies for just 15 per cent of deaths.

In a previous interview with The Tyee, Lapointe said the BC Coroners Service has a practice of relying on toxicology results to confirm suspected drug toxicity deaths and avoids doing autopsies because they are often upsetting for family members. She also said that autopsies are not necessary in many cases.

Some forensic pathologists have complained that B.C.’s reliance on toxicology instead of autopsies is not best practice and told The Tyee they were concerned about Lapointe’s comments.

“You’re the leader of a death investigation system that thinks an autopsy is a violation of the corpse as a default position,” Christopher Milroy, a forensic pathologist based in Ottawa, previously told The Tyee. “But the autopsy remains the central tool of death investigation.”

The Tyee has also reported on the BC Coroners Service’s previous policy of not requiring autopsies for all drowning deaths — a practice that led to serious problems in the case of a woman who died on Okanagan Lake in 2016.

Fowler said it’s not just the number of autopsies that is the problem.

“I have been doing homicide cases for over 30 years and I would say it's unquestionable in my mind... that the quality of some of the autopsy work, it has declined considerably,” he said. “And it's not surprising that if we have a coroner service that does not value the autopsy, you're not going to attract highly trained, highly skilled forensic pathologists to British Columbia.”

Baidwan declined an interview request from The Tyee, saying he needed time to “familiarize himself with his new role and responsibilities while also determining ways to enhance the role of the BCCS.” Before joining the coroners service, Baidwan was the chief medical officer for the Vancouver Island Health Authority, now known as Island Health.

According to information provided by the Ministry of Public Safety, Baidwan “has helped lead work to realign the operations of the coroners service and created a comprehensive postmortem diagnostic services network throughout the province. He served as the organizational lead for the investigation of the deaths and recommendations that came from the 2021 heat dome, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic in response to its increased death toll.”

Lapointe was outspoken about the need for expanded safer supply programs to combat the deadly presence of tainted drugs.

It’s rare for a medical doctor to head the BC Coroners Service. The province’s first chief coroner, Dr. William McArthur, held the position from 1979 to 1981. He was replaced by Larry Campbell, a former RCMP officer who would go on to become mayor of Vancouver and then a senator. Other chief coroners have been former police officers or lawyers.

Dr. Diane Rothon, the second doctor to be hired as chief coroner, held the post for just eight months in 2010 before resigning because she was concerned the service was being “eroded and weakened,” according to leaked emails.

British Columbia does not require coroners to have medical training, although they do receive specialized training to do their jobs.

Several other provinces — including Alberta, Manitoba and Nova Scotia — use a medical examiner system instead. Medical examiners must be physicians and are required to have training in pathology. Ontario has a coroner system, but all coroners must be doctors, including the chief coroner.

Fowler said he would have preferred to see a forensic pathologist appointed as chief coroner.

“It's welcome news that the government has appointed somebody who's medically trained to be the coroner,” he said.

“But I still think it’s far removed from what is preferable, which is to have a coroner who is a forensic pathologist.... It’s a very important subspecialty, and forensic pathologists are those who are trained both in pathology and in the autopsy and have a clear understanding of the legal ramifications of what they're investigating, such that they’re well positioned to understand what kind of evidence is required by courts, by police, by lawyers.”