N.L. hasn't buried a single unclaimed body since legislation change in January

Elizabeth Whitten · CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 21 minutes ago

The authorities of Newfoundland and Labrador made a legislation change 4 months agone meant to tackle the increasing fig of unclaimed bodies being held successful freezer units astatine the Health Sciences Centre successful St. John's — but it has yet to hide a azygous person.

According to the amended legislation, which was filed connected Dec. 24 and came into effect connected Jan. 1, Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services (NLHS) has the powerfulness to hide unclaimed remains aft 2 weeks of searching for adjacent of kin and past 5 days aft the individuality of the idiosyncratic is posted online connected a dedicated website.

The website besides has yet to launch.

Health authorization spokesperson Mikaela Etchegary told CBC News successful an email that work is inactive ongoing connected the authorities and the website.

"N.L. Health Services handles unclaimed quality remains respectfully and volition instrumentality steps to place and interaction individuals who whitethorn beryllium entitled to assertion the remains, anterior to posting accusation to the web page," she wrote.

Etchegary said the fig of remains inactive semipermanent retention facilities changes frequently, but arsenic of May 14 determination were 27 bodies.

"To date, nary burials for unclaimed remains person been completed by N.L. Health Services arsenic we finalize operationalizing the legislation," she wrote.

CBC News archetypal reported the wellness authorization was storing 28 bodies successful freezer units successful an alleyway connected infirmary spot much than a twelvemonth ago. It was due to a deficiency of abstraction successful the morgue, which doubles arsenic the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Over the summer, NLHS relocated the freezers to the hospital's underground parking store and built a partition astir it.

Procedure successful place

Health Minister Krista Lynn Howell, who took implicit the portfolio past week, says determination is simply a process successful spot for the wellness authorization to woody with unclaimed bodies.

"We bash expect that they are pursuing that to the missive connected however they behaviour the operations astir these unclaimed remains. So they person a much wide pathway arsenic to however they grip this," Howell told reporters connected Thursday.

But adjacent with the website not up and running, she wouldn't accidental whether the authorities was working.

"That would beryllium our anticipation of NLHS and surely we'll person further conversations astir that with the CEO and ensuring that we bash the astir due measures to, with dignity, grip immoderate unclaimed remains," Howell said.

Progressive Conservative MHA and wellness professional Barry Petten says it's alarming that dozens of bodies are inactive successful retention and that it reflects poorly connected the province.

"The state brought successful this legislation, they were going to travel up with processes," helium said.

"We're uncovering retired there's inactive bodies successful these coolers. It's conscionable not satisfactory."

Petten says nary substance however idiosyncratic lived oregon died, radical merit a dignified burial.

Given the authorities hasn't been operational aft months, Petten says helium questions the government's willingness to enactment connected the problem.

"I don't deliberation that's a satisfactory answer."

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