British Columbia’s Ministry of Public Safety says it was unaware of the BC Coroners Service continuing a practice of attending certain death scenes remotely after 2019.
Ministry spokeswoman Tasha Schollen says the ministry’s understanding was that in-person scene attendance had been “restored” six years ago, and it’s now discussing the situation with the service.
Her remarks come after a former coroner told The Canadian Press that two bodies went unnoticed at the Vancouver death scene of a third person in 2022 in part because the coroner attended remotely by phoning a police officer at the single room occupancy apartment.
Former community coroner Sonya Schulz says the service stopped requiring coroners to physically attend certain scenes to save money several years ago.
A delegate of B.C.’s director of employment standards also said in a March ruling that when a field coroner isn’t available in a region where a death is reported, a coroner from another area “will typically conduct their investigation of the scene remotely.”
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
The body of “Jimmy” Van Chung Pham was found in a tiny apartment in February 2022, but the bodies of missing Indigenous teenager Noelle O’Soup and a woman named Elma Enan went unnoticed there for months until residents complained of the smell.
The ministry says it was a “tragic situation,” and the ministry “is in contact with the BC Coroner’s Service about these allegations.”