Child Death Review - 2020 Update

The Final Report for the Child Death Review undertaken by this Office was issued in 2014 and the implementation of the recommendations have been monitored since that time. While many of the recommendations relate to policy development within the responding departments, there was one recommendation that was issued to all three responding departments. This recommendation related to the establishment of an Interjurisdictional Child Death Review Committee and is viewed by the Ombudsman as essential in creating a process where the circumstances surrounding the death of a child (who was, or had been, receiving care or was in the custody of the province) are reviewed with the intent to address gaps and prevent future similar incidents.

Recently, there has been significant movement in the implementation of this recommendation with the introduction of Bill 180, an amendment of the Fatality Investigations Act to establish a Child Death Review committee. This amendment received Royal Assent on October 30, 2019.

We are pleased to see the establishment of a Child Death Review Committee move forward and provide input in the development of the associated regulations and policies to ensure that the issues identified in this investigation are addressed through the legislation and associated policy.