Health committee  Correct.

Health committee  The coroner and all physicians have a choice of five manners or means of death: natural, accident, suicide, homicide, or undetermined.

Health committee  No, I don't think so. What we do in Ontario and in most provinces is in line with the World Health Organization. It allows us to implement a system that is transferable between jurisdictions. Although there is some movement on the definitions of each of the manners, overall I think it is the best classification system.

Health committee  Yes. It's not always possible to make the determination of someone's intent, but based upon the balance of probabilities, which is our standard of proof in most circumstances, we can. The data that's collected is not just the manner of death or means of death, but also the cause of death.

Health committee  I think one of the issues, and I think both Mr. Bishop and the chief referenced this, is that there may not be a huge benefit in separating those groups because the risk applies to all those groups. I'd start by saying that. In answer to your question about what can be done at the federal level, perhaps I could give you a short list of what I think should be done, after being involved in the inquest and what we've been doing over the past number of years.

Health committee  Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the committee, staff, and witnesses. It is my privilege to assist you today, both as a physician and as a representative of the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario. The issue of prescription drug misuse, especially in regard to opiates, is one of great significance to our office and to physicians as a whole.