Coroners who make themselves available around the clock to investigate sudden deaths are getting a pay bump.
Coroner services in the Yukon are managed by the chief coroner in Whitehorse and supported by 32 volunteer community coroners.
With the changes to the regulations, those coroners now get paid $300 for an investigation, regardless of its length. For conducting inquests, it’s now $300 a day or $150 for each half-day. For every day a coroner is on call but doesn’t get called in they earn $75.
Under the old regulations, there was no on-call pay but the chief coroner had the option of handing out $200 honorariums at the end of the year.
Previously coroners were paid $150 for investigations where there was no inquest, and $200 on the first day of an inquest and $100 for every half day after that.
The changes to the regulations bring the Yukon in line with other Canadian jurisdictions, according to a Yukon government news release.
“We recognize and appreciate the important services that Yukon’s coroners provide,” Minister of Justice Mike Nixon said in the release. “Pay rates in regulation have been updated to provide coroners compensation that is reflective of their current job demands.”
The coroner’s office conducts death investigations and makes recommendations from their findings to improve public safety and prevent similar deaths from occurring.