B.C. appoints new chief coroner, while overdose health emergency continues

British Columbia's provincial flag flies on a flagpole in Ottawa on July 3, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The British Columbia government has appointed Dr. Jatinder Baidwan as the province's new chief coroner following the retirement of Lisa Lapointe earlier this year.

The Ministry of Public Safety says in a statement that Baidwan takes on the role after serving as the chief medical officer for the BC Coroners Service since 2017.

It says Baidwan aims to "enhance" the role of the service, providing data to better inform policymakers and prevent future deaths.

When Lapointe announced her retirement after 13 years in the post, she said she was leaving feeling saddened by her agency's inability to sway policies to reduce what she described as the "tragic impacts" of the illicit drug overdose crisis.

Lapointe said the coroners' service had been "forever altered" by the public health emergency that has killed nearly 15,000 people since April 2016.

The B.C. government statement announcing Baidwan's appointment does not mention the overdose emergency.

It says Baidwan, who is a physician, previously served as chief medical officer for the health authority on Vancouver Island.

The statement says his work at the coroners' service helped to "realign" the agency's operations and created a "comprehensive post-mortem diagnostic services network" throughout B.C.

He also led the agency's work to investigate deaths during the 2021 heat dome that killed more than 600 people, as well as its response to the increase in deaths caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2024.