First Session, 47th

General Assembly

61 Elizabeth II,

BILL 33

AN ACT TO AMEND THE FATALITIES

INVESTIGATIONS ACT

Received and Read the First Time ...................................................................................................

Second Reading .................................................................................................................................

Committee ............................................................................................................................................

Third Reading .....................................................................................................................................

Royal Assent ......................................................................................................................................

HONOURABLE FELIX

COLLINS

Minister of Justice

and Attorney General

Ordered to be printed by

the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Fatalities Investigations Act to

establish a Child Death Review

Committee to review the facts and circumstances of all deaths within its

mandate, and to report its findings to the minister;

require the minister to provide

a copy of the report of the committee to the Child and Youth Advocate; and

empower the committee to

recommend to the minister that a public inquiry be held where necessary for the

protection of the public interest or in the interest of public safety.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE FATALITIES

INVESTIGATIONS ACT

Analysis

S.2 Amdt.

Definitions

2. S.7 Amdt.

Institutional deaths

Ss.13.1 and 13.6 Added

13.1 Child Death

Review

Committee

13.2 Review by

committee

13.3 Report of committee

13.4 Minister to provide

copy

13.5 Recommendations to

be made public

13.6 No liability

S.25 Amdt.

Recommendation to the minister

S.26 R&S

Powers and duties of minister

6. S.29.1 Added

Regulations

SNL2001 cC-12.01

Amdt.

RSNL1990 cE-16

Amdt.

9. Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

SNL1995 cF-6.1

as amended

(1) Section 2 of the Fatalities Investigations Act is amended by adding immediately

after paragraph (

c) the following:

(c.1) "child" means a person under the age

of majority;

(c.2) "committee" means the Child Death

Review Committee appointed under

section 13.1;

(2) Section 2 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after paragraph (

l) the following:

(l.1) "review" means a review by the

committee under

section 13.2; and

2. Paragraph 7(

c) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

(

c) while in the custody of a manager under the Children and Youth Care and Protection Act ;

3. The Act is amended by adding immediately after

section 13 the following:

Child Death

Review Committee

13.1

(1) The

Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall establish a Child Death Review Committee

to review the facts and circumstances of deaths referred to in subsection

13.2(1) for the purpose of

(

a) discovering and monitoring trends in those

deaths; and

(

b) determining whether further evaluation of

those deaths is necessary or desirable in the public interest.

(2) The membership of the committee shall be

determined by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

(3) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall

appoint one member as chairperson and one member as vice-chairperson who shall

act as chairperson where the chairperson is absent or unable to act.

(4) The chief medical examiner shall, by virtue of

his or her office, be a member of the committee.

(5) A committee member shall be appointed for the

term prescribed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, and notwithstanding the

expiration of a committee member's term, that person shall continue to serve on

the committee until reappointed or replaced.

(6) In the discretion of the chairperson of the

committee, some or all of the members of the committee may perform a review.

(7) Notwithstanding subsection (6), where a

committee member wishes to participate in a review he or she shall not be

prohibited from doing so except where, in the opinion of the chairperson, that

committee member is in a position of conflict or potential conflict with

respect to the review.

(8) Notwithstanding subsection (6), all of the

members of the committee shall meet at least annually.

(9) The committee may, with the prior approval of the

minister, obtain assistance or retain expert services in the course of a

review, and a person providing that assistance or whose services are retained

shall be considered to be a member of the committee for the purpose of that review.

Review by committee

13.2

(1) The

committee shall review the facts and circumstances of

(

a) child deaths; and

(

b) deaths referred to in paragraphs 6(1)(

d) and

(

e) where those deaths are required to be

investigated by the medical examiner under subsection 10(1).

(2) The committee may review one or more deaths

during a review.

(3) A review shall only begin after a medical

examiner has completed his or her duties under

section 10.

(4) For the purpose of conducting a review, the

committee may use any information acquired by a medical examiner or investigator

in the course of an investigation under this Act.

Report of committee

13.3

(1) After

each review, the committee shall report to the minister

(

a) its findings with respect to the facts and circumstances

surrounding deaths that were the subject of the review; and

(

b) the recommendations it may have respecting the

prevention of similar deaths.

(2) The committee may base its report on an

aggregate and multidisciplinary analysis of the deaths reviewed.

(3) In its report, the committee may

(

a) identify systemic problems;

(

b) promote prevention of deaths reviewed by it through

education, protocol development and dissemination of information; and

(

c) make recommendations to the minister

respecting the protection of the health, safety and well-being of children and pregnant

women generally.

(4) The committee shall not, in its report, make a

finding of legal responsibility or express a conclusion of law.

(5) After a report has been submitted to the

minister under this section, the committee shall submit all records relevant to

the review to the Chief Medical Examiner.

Minister to

provide copy

13.4 The

minister shall as soon as practicable provide a copy of the report of the

committee to the Child and Youth Advocate.

Recommendations

to be made public

13.5 Within

60 days after the minister has received a report under

section 13.3, the

minister shall make public those recommendations of the report relating to

(

a) relevant protocols, policies and procedures;

(

b) standards and legislation;

(

c) linkages and coordination of services; and

(

d) improvements to services affecting children

and pregnant women.

No liability

13.6 An

action or other proceeding does not lie against the committee or a member of it

for anything done or omitted to be done in good faith in the course of

completing a review or carrying out a duty under this Act.

Section 25 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (1) the following:

(1.1) The committee may, either in the course of a

review under this Act or on completion of a review, where the committee is of

the view that it is necessary for the protection of the public interest or in

the interest of public safety, recommend to the minister that a public inquiry

be held.

Section 26 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Powers and duties

of minister

26. Where

the minister receives

(

a) a recommendation by the Chief Medical Examiner

under subsection 25(1); or

(

b) a recommendation by the committee under subsection

25(1.1)

and the minister is satisfied that an inquiry

is necessary for the protection of the public interest or in the interest of

public safety, the minister may order that a judge conduct an inquiry and the

inquiry shall be conducted within the parameters set out in

Part IV of the Provincial Offences Act .

6. The Act is amended by adding immediately after

section 29 the following:

Regulations

29.1 The

Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the policies and

procedures of the Child Death Review Committee.

SNL2001 cC-12.01

Amdt.

Section 15.1 of the Child and Youth Advocate Act is amended by deleting the word "or"

at the end of paragraph (b), by deleting the period at the end of paragraph (

c) and substituting a semi-colon, and by adding immediately after paragraph (

c) the

following:

(

d) a matter which is the subject of a review by

the Child Death Review Committee under the authority of

section 13.2 of the Fatalities Investigations Act; or

(

e) a matter which is the subject of a public

inquiry under the authority of

section 26 of the Fatalities Investigations Act until that public inquiry has been

completed.

RSNL1990 cE-16

Amdt.

8. Subsection 8.1(2) of the Evidence Act is amended by adding immediately after paragraph (

a) the

following:

(a.1) the Child Death Review Committee under the Fatalities Investigations Act ;

Commencement

9. This Act comes into force on a day to be

proclaimed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

William E.

Parsons, Queen's Printer