The Office of the Registrar General (ORG) sent a memo on August 23, 2021 to Funeral Directors via the Bereavement Authority of Ontario regarding Coroner Investigators’ permanent authority to sign and copy Medical Certificates of Death.

Effective August 18, 2021 changes to Regulation 1094 of the Vital Statistics Act will permanently authorize active registered nurses and nurse practitioners appointed as coroner investigators under section 16.1 of the Coroners Act, to complete, sign and copy Medical Certificates of Death (MCODs), including electronic Medical Certificates of Death (eMCODs).

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, an emergency order was made in May 2020 to temporarily grant registered nurses and nurse practitioners with this authority.

The regulatory changes also clarify that coroner investigators are permitted to sign MCODs and eMCODs for deaths they investigate; that only coroners can sign MCODs and eMCODs for deaths that were investigated by a coroner; and that copying MCODs and eMCODs will also be allowed when death registrations are completed as a result of family-led death care instead of the families using a funeral home.

August 23rd Memo from Office of the Registrar General