BILL NO. 92
(as passed, with amendments)
2nd Session, 58th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
50 Elizabeth II, 2001
Fatality Investigations Act
CHAPTER 31 OF THE ACTS OF 2001
The Honourable Michael G. Baker, Q.C.
Minister of Justice
First Reading: November 15, 2001 (LINK TO BILL AS INTRODUCED)
Second Reading: November 16, 2001
Third Reading: November 22, 2001 (WITH COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS)
Royal Assent: November 22, 2001
An Act Respecting
the Investigation of Fatalities
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Fatality Investigations Act.
2 (1) In this Act,
(a) "autopsy" means the dissection of a body of a person for the purpose of examining organs and tissues to determine the cause of death or manner of death or the identity of the person and includes chemical, histological, microbiological or serological tests and other laboratory investigations;
(b) "body" means a dead human body or the remains of a dead human body;
(c) "cause of death" means the medical cause of death according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems as last revised by the International Conference for that purpose and published by the World Health Organization;
(d) "common-law partner" of an individual means another individual who has cohabited with the individual for a period of at least two years;
(e) "health-care facility" means a hospital as defined in the Hospitals Act, a nursing home or residential-care facility as defined in the Homes for Special Care Act or a child-care facility as defined in the Children and Family Services Act;
(f) "inquiry" means a fatality inquiry under Section 26;
(g) "investigator" means a medical examiner's investigator who acts as an assistant to the medical examiner in determining the manner and cause of death of a person and who is appointed under clause 3(4)(c) or a person who is a medical examiner's investigator under Section 6;
(h) "judge" means a judge of the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia;
(i) "manner of death" means the mode or method of death whether natural, homicidal, suicidal, accidental or undeterminable;
(j) "medical examiner" means a medical examiner appointed under Section 4;
(k) "Minister" means the Minister of Justice;
(l) "nearest relative" means the first living person on the list determined in accordance with subsection (2) who has attained the age of majority and is able and willing to act in the capacity contemplated in the relevant provision of this Act;
(m) "pathologist" means a physician who is a specialist in pathology as recognized by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia;
(n) "physician" means a qualified medical practitioner registered under the Medical Act;
(o) "spouse" means, with reference to a dead person, a person to whom the dead person was married at the time of death.
(2) For the purpose of this Act, the nearest relative of a deceased person is the first person on the following list of categories and, if there is more than one person within a category, the eldest person within that category:
(a) the spouse or common-law partner of the deceased, if the spouse or common-law partner was cohabiting with the deceased in a conjugal relationship immediately before that person's death;
(b) the children of the deceased;
(c) the parents or guardian of the deceased;
(d) the siblings of the deceased;
(e) the grandchildren of the deceased;
(f) the grandparents of the deceased;
(g) the uncles and aunts of the deceased;
(h) the nephews and nieces of the deceased;
(i) the next in order of kin after those persons referred to in clauses (a) to (h).
3 (1) The Governor in Council shall appoint a Chief Medical Examiner who must be a pathologist with training or experience in forensic pathology.
(2) The Chief Medical Examiner holds office during good behaviour.
(3) The Chief Medical Examiner may exercise and perform the powers and duties of a medical examiner.
(4) The Chief Medical Examiner is responsible to the Minister for
(a) the operation of this Act in relation to the reporting, investigating and recording of deaths;
(b) the appointment of medical examiners;
(c) the appointment of investigators;
(d) the administration of the budget of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner;
(e) the appointment of an Acting Chief Medical Examiner who may act in the place of the Chief Medical Examiner;
(f) the education of persons required to perform functions under this Act;
(g) the supervision of medical examiners and investigators in the performance of their duties; and
(h) the discharge of other duties as assigned by this Act or the regulations.
(5) The Chief Medical Examiner, before entering upon the duties of the office, shall take and subscribe an oath in the form prescribed in the regulations to faithfully discharge the duties of the office, which oath may be administered by a judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia or the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia and the Chief Medical Examiner shall file this oath with the Minister.
(6) The Chief Medical Examiner ceases to hold office upon
(a) ceasing to hold a medical licence under the Medical Act;
(b) resigning in writing to the Minister;
(c) termination by the Minister for cause; or
(d) ceasing to be ordinarily resident in the Province.
4 (1) The Chief Medical Examiner may appoint physicians as medical examiners and shall inform the Minister of each appointment and its term.
(2) A medical examiner, before entering upon the duties of the office, shall take and subscribe an oath in the form prescribed in the regulations that the medical examiner will faithfully discharge the duties of the medical examiner's office, which oath may be administered by a judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia or the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia and the medical examiner shall file this oath with the Minister.
(3) An appointment of a medical examiner made before the coming into force of this Act is deemed to be an appointment of the medical examiner under this Act.
(4) An oath of office sworn by a medical examiner before the coming into force of this Act is deemed to be an oath of office as sworn by the medical examiner under this Act.
(5) A medical examiner ceases to hold office upon
(a) ceasing to hold a medical licence under the Medical Act;
(b) resigning in writing to the Minister;
(c) termination of the medical examiner's appointment by the Chief Medical Examiner;
(d) termination of the medical examiner's appointment by order of the Minister; or
(e) ceasing to be ordinarily resident in the Province.
(6) A medical examiner is suspended during any period that the medical examiner's registration as a medical practitioner is suspended under the Medical Act.
(7) The Minister may suspend the appointment of a medical examiner during any period that a complaint regarding the medical examiner is under review by the Chief Medical Examiner.
5 (1) Upon notification of a death, where the medical examiner is satisfied that the death occurred under a circumstance referred to in Sections 9 to 12, the medical examiner shall investigate the death and, where possible, establish
(a) the identity of the person;
(b) the date, time and place of death;
(c) the cause of death; and
(d) the manner of death.
(2) A medical examiner shall keep a record of all deaths of which the medical examiner is notified under this Act and shall provide to the Chief Medical Examiner a record of all investigations that the medical examiner or an investigator under the supervision of the medical examiner makes into a death, including the reports, certificates and other documents prescribed by the Chief Medical Examiner.
(3) In making a report under subsection (2), a medical examiner or investigator shall not express an opinion with respect to culpability.
(4) Where a medical examiner is unable to investigate a death of which the medical examiner receives notice, the medical examiner shall
(a) notify another medical examiner if the death occurred in a circumstance referred to in Sections 9 to 12; and
(b) record why the death was not investigated by the medical examiner.
(5) When a medical examiner has investigated a death and has determined the manner and cause of death, the medical examiner shall submit a medical certificate of death in accordance with the Vital Statistics Act.
(6) A medical examiner may authorize a physician to submit a medical certificate of death.
(7) Where a medical examiner has authorized a physician to complete a medical certificate of death for a person who has died in a circumstance referred to in Sections 9 to 12, the medical examiner shall establish and record
(a) the identity of the person;
(b) the date, time and place of death;
(c) the cause of death;
(d) the manner of death; and
(e) the name of the physician who completed the medical certificate of death.
6 (1) An investigator, when authorized by a medical examiner,
(a) shall assist the medical examiner in carrying out the medical examiner's duties under this Act; and
(b) may exercise the powers and perform the duties of a medical examiner set out in Section 5.
(2) Every member of a municipal police department or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police serving in the Province is, by virtue of the member's office, a medical examiner's investigator and shall act under the direction of a medical examiner or investigator.
7 (1) A medical examiner or an investigator acting under the medical examiner's authorization may, without a warrant,
(a) enter a place where the medical examiner or the investigator believes, on reasonable grounds, that a body that is the subject of an investigation, or matters related to the body, is or has been located;
(b) take possession of anything that the medical examiner or the investigator has reasonable grounds to believe may be directly related to the death or may assist in determining the issues set out in subsection 5(1) and place anything seized into the custody of a peace officer;
(c) cordon off or secure the scene or area in which the death under investigation occurred for a period not exceeding forty-eight hours or such further period as the Chief Medical Examiner may authorize;
(d) inspect and make copies of a diagnosis, a record or information relating to a person who has received diagnostic and treatment services; and
(e) with the approval of the Chief Medical Examiner, obtain the services or retain expert assistance for a part of the medical examiner's or investigator's investigation.
(2) The Chief Medical Examiner shall apply to a judge or justice of the peace for a warrant to enter premises where a body is not located but which the Chief Medical Examiner has reasonable grounds to believe may contain evidence related to the manner or cause of death or the date, time and place of death and to take possession of anything that the Chief Medical Examiner believes, on reasonable grounds, may be directly or indirectly related to the death.
(3) The items seized under subsection (1) or (2) may only be used by the medical examiner to establish the identification, cause and manner of death or the date, time and place of death as required for the purpose of this Act and, where a peace officer requests those items in the course of a criminal investigation, a warrant shall be obtained.
8 (1) Unless otherwise directed by the Minister or the Chief Medical Examiner, a medical examiner or investigator has jurisdiction throughout the Province.
(2) A medical examiner shall not engage a person to act as an investigator where the person has an interest, whether professional or personal, that conflicts with the duties of an investigator under this Act unless the medical examiner first advises the Chief Medical Examiner of the conflict and the Chief Medical Examiner authorizes the medical examiner to engage the person as an investigator.
(3) A medical examiner shall not act as a medical examiner where the medical examiner has an interest, whether professional or personal, that conflicts with the duties of a medical examiner under this Act unless the medical examiner first advises the Chief Medical Examiner of the conflict and the Chief Medical Examiner authorizes the medical examiner to act as a medical examiner.
9 A person having knowledge of or reason to believe that a person has died under one of the following circumstances shall immediately notify a medical examiner or an investigator:
(a) as a result of violence, accident or suicide;
(b) unexpectedly when the person was in good health;
(c) where the person was not under the care of a physician;
(d) where the cause of death is undetermined; or
(e) as the result of improper or suspected negligent treatment by a person.
10 (1) Where a person dies while in a health-care facility and there is reason to believe that
(a) the death occurred as the result of violence, suspected suicide or accident;
(b) the death occurred as a result of suspected misadventure, negligence or accident on the part of the attending physician or staff;
(c) the cause of death is undetermined;
(d) a stillbirth or a neonatal death has occurred where maternal injury has occurred or is suspected either before admission or during delivery; or
(e) the death occurred within ten days of an operative procedure or under initial induction, anaesthesia or the recovery from anaesthesia from that operative procedure,
the person responsible for that facility shall immediately notify a medical examiner or an investigator.
(2) Where a person is declared dead on arrival or dies in the emergency department of a health-care facility as a result of a circumstance referred to in subsection (1), the person responsible for that facility shall immediately notify a medical examiner or an investigator.
11 (1) Where a person dies
(a) while detained or in custody in a correctional institution such as a jail, penitentiary, guard room, remand centre, detention centre, youth facility, lock-up or any other place where a person is in custody or detention;
(b) while an inmate who is in a hospital or a facility as defined in the Hospitals Act;
(c) in an institution designated in the regulations;
(d) while in the custody of the Minister of Community Services pursuant to the Children and Family Services Act; or
(e) while detained by or in the custody of a peace officer or as a result of the use of force by a peace officer while on duty,
the person in charge of that institution or the person detaining or having the custody of the deceased person shall immediately notify a medical examiner or an investigator.
(2) Where a person dies while committed to a facility or institution set out in subsection (1) but while not on the premises or in actual custody, the person in charge of that facility or institution, jail or other place shall, immediately on receiving notice of the death, notify a medical examiner.
12 Where a person dies as the result of
(a) a disease or ill health;
(b) an injury sustained by the person; or
(c) a toxic substance introduced into the person,
probably caused by or connected with the person's employment or occupation, the physician attending the deceased person at the time of that person's death shall immediately notify a medical examiner or an investigator.
13 (1) A medical examiner may authorize the autopsy of the body of a person who died under a circumstance referred to in Sections 9 to 12.
(2) Where a medical examiner authorizes an autopsy, the autopsy shall be carried out by a pathologist.
(3) A person who performs an autopsy shall provide the medical examiner who authorized the autopsy with autopsy reports as soon as is practicable.
14 (1) Where the removal of the tissue or organs does not interfere with an investigation or proceeding and appropriate consent has been obtained under the Human Tissue Gift Act, a medical examiner may remove or allow the removal of organs or tissues for therapeutic, medical education or scientific research.
(2) Where a person has been declared legally dead but where that person's organ functions are sustained by artificial means, and the appropriate consent has been given under the Human Tissue Gift Act for live organ donation, the medical examiner shall be notified and shall determine whether the removal of those tissues or organs will interfere with an investigation or proceeding.
15 Where a person knows or believes that a death has occurred in the Province but no body has been located, that person shall immediately notify a medical examiner or an investigator who shall notify the Chief Medical Examiner.
16 (1) Where a body is unidentified or unclaimed and an investigation indicates that the body is likely to remain unidentified or unclaimed, the Chief Medical Examiner shall arrange for the storage of the body for a period of seven days from the completion of the investigation.
(2) Where, on the expiry of the seven-day period, the body remains unidentified or unclaimed, the Chief Medical Examiner may deal with the body in accordance with the Anatomy Act.
17 Where a medical examiner or an investigator seizes anything under subsection 7(1), except prescription medicines, illegal drugs or other dangerous or illegal items or substances, the medical examiner shall retain it until the conclusion of an investigation or inquiry into the death and then shall return it to the person from whom it was seized or, if that person is deceased, to that person's nearest relative.
18 A medical examiner may destroy soiled or damaged clothing that was taken into possession with a body and that is not required for the purpose of this Act or an investigation or proceeding conducted under another Act of the Province.
19 (1) No person who has reason to believe that a person died under a circumstance referred to in Sections 9 to 12 shall, except under a direction of a medical examiner or the Chief Medical Examiner,
(a) clean or make alterations to the body or clothing on the body or objects attached to the body; or
(b) apply a chemical or other substance to the body internally or externally.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who makes alterations or applies a chemical or other substance to a body for the purpose of resuscitation.
20 No person shall
(a) cremate a body or otherwise dispose of a body in such a manner that the body is not available for future examination; or
(b) ship or take a body from a place in the Province to a place outside of the Province,
until a medical examiner issues a certificate in the form prescribed by the Chief Medical Examiner stating that the medical examiner has examined the medical certificate of death and the Chief Medical Examiner has issued the appropriate release.
21 Where a body is brought into the Province for ultimate disposal and it is determined that the body will not be required for future examination, no person shall dispose of the body until a medical examiner or investigator has been notified and has
(a) inspected the medical certificate of death or other documents which accompany the body;
(b) made the investigation that may be necessary to establish or confirm the cause of death; and
(c) issued a certificate as prescribed by the Chief Medical Examiner.
22 (1) Notwithstanding the Health Act, the Chief Medical Examiner may order a body disinterred for the purpose of an investigation under this Act.
(2) Copies of an order under subsection (1) shall be given at least forty-eight hours before the disinterment to
(a) the spouse or, where there is no spouse, the nearest relative of the deceased who resides in the Province;
(b) a medical health officer;
(c) the Registrar of Vital Statistics; and
(d) the owner or the person in charge of the cemetery or mausoleum where the body is buried or stored.
23 (1) All reports, certificates and other records made by a person under this Act are the property of the Government of the Province, and no such report, certificate or record, other than a medical certificate of death completed in accordance with the Vital Statistics Act or reports, certificates and other records released in the course of an inquiry held pursuant to this Act, may be released without the permission of the Chief Medical Examiner.
(2) On completion of an investigation and on receipt of a request from the nearest relative, the executor or executrix of the deceased or other interested party considered valid by the Chief Medical Examiner, a report shall be completed and sent by the Chief Medical Examiner to the person making the request.
24 Where, during the course of an investigation, a medical examiner is of the opinion that an offence related to the death being investigated may have been committed, the medical examiner shall immediately notify the Chief Medical Examiner and the peace officer in charge of the police detachment or station that is closest to the place at which the medical examiner believes the offence to have occurred.
25 No person shall hinder, obstruct or interfere with a medical examiner or an investigator in the performance of the duties of the medical examiner or investigator under this Act.
26 (1) Where the Chief Medical Examiner is of the view that it is necessary that a fatality inquiry be held regarding one or more deaths that occurred under a circumstance referred to in Sections 9 to 12, the Chief Medical Examiner may recommend to the Minister that an inquiry be held.
(2) A recommendation under this Section shall be in writing and be accompanied by all reports, documents and certificates that may be relevant to the death.
27 (1) Where the Chief Medical Examiner recommends to the Minister under Section 26 that a fatality inquiry be held, the Minister shall order that an inquiry be held.
(2) Where the Minister is satisfied that a fatality inquiry is in the public interest or the interest of public safety, the Minister may order that an inquiry be held.
(3) Where the Minister orders that a fatality inquiry be held pursuant to subsections (1) or (2), the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia shall appoint a judge to conduct an inquiry and make recommendations on any issues identified in the order of the Minister.
28 In recommending to the Minister to hold an inquiry, the Chief Medical Examiner shall not, with respect to the death or deaths for which the inquest is to be held, express an opinion with respect to culpability.
29 A judge who holds an inquiry under this Act has all the powers, privileges and immunities of a commissioner appointed under the Public Inquiries Act.
30 (1) A report that purports to be made by a medical examiner pursuant to subsection 5(2) shall be admitted in evidence without proof of the signature or appointment of the medical examiner.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a judge may require a medical examiner to attend and give evidence at a fatality inquiry and the medical examiner is entitled to receive a fee for attendance as prescribed by the regulations if the medical examiner is not a full-time employee of the Province.
31 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a judge may admit in evidence at a fatality inquiry
(a) any oral testimony; or
(b) any document or other thing,
that is relevant to the purposes of the fatality inquiry but shall refuse to admit in evidence all or part of any oral testimony or any document or other thing if the judge is satisfied that the oral testimony, document or other thing or part of it is vexatious, unimportant or unnecessary for the purpose of the fatality inquiry.
(2) Notwithstanding any enactment, a judge may admit in evidence all or any relevant part of a diagnosis, record or information referred to in subsection (1) to enable the judge to make findings and recommendations and to report in respect of any or all of the matters set out in subsection 39(1).
(3) Nothing is admissible in evidence at a fatality inquiry that would be inadmissible in a judicial proceeding by reason of any privilege under the law of evidence.
(4) When a document has been admitted in evidence at a fatality inquiry, the judge may, or the person producing it or entitled to it may, with the leave of the judge, cause the document to be copied and the judge may
(a) authorize the copy to be admitted in evidence in the place of the document admitted and release the document admitted; or
(b) furnish to the person producing it or the person entitled to it a copy of the document admitted that has been certified by the judge.
32 All hearings at a fatality inquiry under this Act shall be open to the public except where the judge is of the opinion that
(a) matters involving public security may be disclosed; or
(b) intimate or personal matters or other matters may be disclosed at the hearing that are of such a nature, having regard to the circumstances, that the desirability of avoiding disclosure of the matters in the interest of any person affected or in the public interest outweighs the desirability of adhering to the principle that hearings be open to the public,
in which case the judge may hold the hearing or any part of it concerning any such matters in camera.
33 No decision of the judge that a hearing or any part of it be held in camera or in public shall be questioned or reviewed in any court, and no order shall be made or process entered or proceedings taken in any court, whether by way of certiorari, mandamus, injunction, declaratory judgment, prohibition, quo warranto or otherwise, to question, review, prohibit or restrain that decision.
34 (1) No person shall knowingly and wilfully release, publish or disclose or cause to be released, published or disclosed to anyone any oral testimony or documentary evidence introduced or heard in camera at a fatality inquiry.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to
(a) oral testimony; or
(b) documentary evidence,
contained in the findings of the judge or in the written report of the judge under Section 39 or otherwise released by or under the authority of the judge.
35 (1) The Minister or the judge may at any time before or during a fatality inquiry stay the inquiry
(a) for the purpose of allowing a police investigation in respect of a death; or
(b) pending the determination of a charge where a person is charged in respect of a death.
(2) Where the Minister has stayed a fatality inquiry pursuant to subsection (1), the Minister may refer the matter back to the judge to continue the fatality inquiry at a later date.
(3) Where a judge has stayed a fatality inquiry pursuant to subsection (1) and subsequently determines that it is no longer necessary for the inquiry to be stayed, the judge shall continue the inquiry.
36 (1) A Crown attorney or counsel for the Minister shall appear at a fatality inquiry and may examine and cross-examine witnesses and present arguments and submissions.
(2) The participants at a fatality inquiry are
(a) a personal representative of the deceased; and
(b) any person who applies to the judge before or during the inquiry and is declared by the judge to be an interested person.
37 A record of the evidence received at a fatality inquiry, including a list of exhibits and witnesses, shall be made.
38 Where a fatality inquiry is commenced by a judge who dies or retires or is removed from office before the completion of the fatality inquiry, or who for any reason is unable to complete the fatality inquiry, the Chief Judge of the Provincial Court may appoint another judge to complete the fatality inquiry or to conduct another fatality inquiry.
39 (1) At the conclusion of the fatality inquiry, the judge shall make and file with the Provincial Court a written report containing any findings made by the judge as to
(a) the identity of the deceased;
(b) the date, time and place of death;
(c) the circumstances under which the death occurred;
(d) the cause of death;
(e) the manner of death; and
(f) the issues identified by the Minister in the order requiring an inquiry to be held,
and shall send a copy of the report to the Minister.
(2) The findings of the judge shall not contain any findings of legal responsibility.
(3) The report and findings of the judge under subsection (1) and any recommendations made by the judge shall not disclose any matters heard or disclosed in camera unless the judge is satisfied that the disclosure is essential in the public interest.
40 A person who fails to comply with this Act or the regulations or who obstructs or hinders any person in that person's performance of duties pursuant to this Act or the regulations is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than one thousand dollars and to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months or to both a fine and imprisonment.
41 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) prescribing fees payable under this Act
(i) to witnesses, court reporters and interpreters, and
(ii) to persons who provide services under this Act;
(b) respecting the procedures to be followed by medical examiners or investigators who conduct investigations under this Act;
(c) respecting the procedures to be followed by pathologists who perform autopsies under this Act;
(d) prescribing the forms of any oaths required to be sworn pursuant to this Act;
(e) prescribing reports, certificates and other documents that must be provided to medical examiners and the Chief Medical Examiner;
(f) prescribing a tariff of fees to be charged for services provided under this Act;
(g) designating any place as an institution for the purpose of Section 11;
(h) prescribing the persons and classes of persons to whom copies of autopsy reports made under subsection 13(3) shall be provided by the Chief Medical Examiner;
(i) defining any word or expression used but not defined in this Act;
(j) respecting any matter considered necessary or advisable to carry out effectively the intent and purpose of this Act.
(2) The exercise by the Governor in Council of the authority contained in subsection (1) is regulations within the meaning of the Regulations Act.
42 Section 67 of Chapter 73 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Coal Mines Regulation Act, is amended by striking out "Inquiries" in the second line and substituting "Investigations".
43 Clause 2(b) of Chapter 23 of the Acts of 1996, the Court and Administrative Reform Act, is amended by
(a) striking out "Inquiries" in the first line and substituting "Investigations"; and
(b) striking out "2" in the second line and substituting "3".
44 Chapter 164 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Fatality Inquiries Act, is repealed.
45 (1) Clause 6(1)(a) of Chapter 215 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Human Tissue Gift Act, is amended by striking out "Inquiries" in the third line and substituting "Investigations".
(2) Section 7 of Chapter 215 is amended by striking out "Section 5 of the Fatality Inquiries" in the third and fourth lines and substituting "Sections 9 to 12 of the Fatality Investigations".
46 (1) Clause 2(f) of Chapter 494 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Vital Statistics Act, is repealed.
(2) Subsection 12(3) of Chapter 494 is amended by striking out "a coroner" in the third line and substituting "the Chief Medical Examiner".
(3) Clause 17(2)(f) of Chapter 494 is amended by striking out "coroner who" in the first line and substituting "Chief Medical Examiner where the Chief Medical Examiner".
(4) Subsection 17(3) of Chapter 494 is amended by striking out "coroner who conducts" in the fourth line and substituting "Chief Medical Examiner, where the Chief Medical Examiner has conducted".
(5) Subsection 17(4) of Chapter 494 is amended by striking out "coroner who conducts" in the third line and substituting "Chief Medical Examiner where the Chief Medical Examiner has conducted".
(6) Subsection 17(5) of Chapter 494 is amended by
(a) striking out "a coroner having jurisdiction" in the sixth and seventh lines and substituting "the Chief Medical Examiner"; and
(b) striking out "coroner" in the eighth line and substituting "Chief Medical Examiner".
(7) Subsection 17(6) of Chapter 494 is amended by
(a) adding "in any of the circumstances referred to in Sections 9 to 12 of the Fatality Investigations Act" immediately after "died" in the second line;
(b) repealing clauses (a) to (d);
(c) striking out "coroner" both times it appears in the second line of clause (e) and substituting in each case "Chief Medical Examiner"; and
(d) striking out "coroner who" in the first line of clause (f) and substituting "Chief Medical Examiner where the Chief Medical Examiner".
(8) Subsection 17(7) of Chapter 494 is amended by striking out "coroner" in the third, in the fourth and in the fifth lines and substituting in each case "Chief Medical Examiner".
(9) Subsection 54(2) of Chapter 494, as enacted by Chapter 29 of the Acts of 2000, is amended by adding immediately after clause (a) the following clause:
(aa) a spouse under the Fatality Investigations Act;
47 This Act comes into force on such day as the Governor in Council orders and declares by proclamation.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2001 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created November 23, 2001. Send comments to legc.office@gov.ns.ca.
