Justice Minister Don Morgan. Photo courtesy Government of Saskatchewan.
For the second time in two years the provincial coroner’s office will undergo a review to maintain public confidence in it.
The decision follows a jury verdict earlier this month that awarded a doctor 5 million dollars after he was denied a job as a pathologist.
The jury ruled, the provinces chief pathologist, Dr. Shaun Ladham unfairly assessed Dr. Jeffrey Racette and was either dishonest or acted in bad faith. Racette is Metis. There were also allegations at the trial that Ladham had made racist remarks related to Indigenous bodies in the morgue.
Justice minister Don Morgan says an independent external review will be conducted.
“It will be specifically to deal with what took place in this case and then to look more broadly at the operations of the coroner’s office and to make recommendations to make sure that we are able to maintain public confidence in the office, “ he said.
Last year, the justice department conducted an internal review following an inquest into the death of Nadine Machiskinic. The coroner’s office first ruled the death as accidental, but the inquest concluded the manner of death was undetermined. Machiskinic fell down the laundry chute of a downtown Regina hotel in January of 2015.