| HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | Dates of Founding and/or Dissolution:
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was created on July 1, 1927 when the Coroner’s Act (S.A. 1927, c. 32) created the position of Chief Provincial Coroner. The Office became the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner through the Fatality Inquiry Act (S.A. 1976, c. 66)..
Functional Responsibility:
The ability to appoint coroners to investigate deaths in the Northwest Territories was first established in Section 82 of the Northwest Territories Act (S.C. 1880, c. 24). The Act stipulated that stipendiary magistrates, the commissioner and assistant commissioner of the Northwest Mounted Police, and other persons as approved by the Governor-in-Council could act as coroners in the Northwest Territories..
Alberta passed a Coroners Act (S.A. 1906, c. 15) shortly after becoming a province. This Act gave coroners the powers to investigate deaths where the cause or responsibility was uncertain. A coroner could investigate a death independently or preside over an inquest, an investigation which included witness testimony and a jury. In 1927 an amendment to the Coroner's Act (S.A. 1927, c. 32) created the Provincial Chief Coroner to supervise the activities of coroners in the province and direct the Coroners' Branch of the Department of the Attorney General.
The Fatality Inquiries Act (S.A. 1976, c. 66) repealed the Coroners Act and created the position of the Chief Medical Examiner. The Chief Medical Examiner continued the previous functions of the Provincial Chief Coroner, but the position’s responsibilities were expanded to include the development and maintenance of facilities as well as the education of persons required to perform functions under this act. The Chief Medical Examiner's responsibilities also included the inspection of medical certificates of death in all cases where burial permits are issued pursuant to the Vital Statistics Act. The Chief Medical Examiner has also been responsible for the initiation of research into preventable deaths..
Predecessor and Successor Bodies:
Prior to 1927, coroners reported directly to the Department of Attorney General.
Administrative Relationships:
The Chief Medical Examiner is appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council. The Chief Medical Examiner is, by virtue of the office, a member of the Fatality Review Board (which reports to the Minister of Justice) but does not vote on matters before the Board.
Administrative Structure:
The Chief Medical Examiner is based in Edmonton. In accordance with the Public Service Act, the Chief Medical Examiner can appoint a Deputy Chief Medical Examiner and an Assistant Deputy Chief Medical Examiner.
There are regional offices of the Chief Medical Examiner situated in Edmonton and Calgary.
Names of Chief Officers:
Provincial Chief Coroners
Edward Ainslie Braithwaite, 1927-1948
John Weightman Bridge, 1948
Maxwell Mordecai Cantor (Acting), 1948-1949
Maxwell Mordecai Cantor, 1949-1974
John Clulow Butt, 1974-1977
Chief Medical Examiners
John Clulow Butt, 1977-1992
Graeme Dowling, 1993-2011
Anny Sauvageau, 2011-2015
Graeme Dowling (Acting), 2015
Jeffrey Gofton, 2015-2016
Elizabeth Brooks-Lin (Acting), 2016
Elizabeth Brooks-Lin, 2016-present
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