Lisa Lapointe says her third term as B.C.B次元官网网址檚 chief coroner B次元官网网址� ending in February B次元官网网址� will be her final after 13 years in the role and nearly three decades in public service.
Lapointe announced Wednesday (Dec. 6) that she would be stepping down when her term comes to an end on Feb. 18, 2024.
B次元官网网址淚t has been an incredible honour to have been chief coroner for the past 13 years and a public servant for so many more, and I have decided that this is the right time for me to retire.B次元官网网址�
She said her years as chief coroner, while B次元官网网址渂oth humbling and challenging,B次元官网网址� has been a highlight of her career. She points to the often challenging work investigating the circumstances of deaths to provide information and help to families and communities devastated by the sudden loss of their loved ones.
B次元官网网址淔or every tragic loss, the coroner must consider whether there is an opportunity to prevent similar deaths in the future. In this way, the role of the coroner, which may seem a bleak one, provides an opportunity to advance meaningful change. This is the most silver of linings in often very dark clouds.B次元官网网址�
She said thereB次元官网网址檚 never a perfect time to leave, adding there are B次元官网网址渕any significant challengesB次元官网网址� face by British Columbians and the coroners service.
Nearly half of her time in this role has been shadowed by the toxic drug crisis, which marked seven years as a public health emergency in April of this year.
B次元官网网址淟ike so many others, our agency has been forever altered by the toxic-drug public health emergency that continues to take the lives of people of all ages in communities throughout B.C.B次元官网网址�
Most recently, Lapointe and a BC Coroners service death review panel called for the province to expand access to safer supply drugs by removing the requirement for a doctorB次元官网网址檚 prescriptions. B.C.B次元官网网址檚 mental health and addictions minister swiftly said thatB次元官网网址檚 out of the question.
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B次元官网网址淚t deeply saddens me that we have been unable to influence the essential change necessary to reduce the tragic impacts of toxic drugs on so many thousands of our family members, friends and colleagues across the province.B次元官网网址�
She said the measures recommended by those expert panel members are essential to ending the crisis.
B次元官网网址淚 will continue to support those recommendations post retirement.B次元官网网址�
LapointeB次元官网网址檚 career as a public service employee in B.C. began in 1995 when she was first appointed as a coroner by then-chief coroner Vince Cain. Since then, sheB次元官网网址檚 held positions in the B.C. Coroners Service, the corrections branch and the provincial civil forfeiture office.
B次元官网网址淎 public service career is both an occupation and a calling, and I am grateful to have been given so many wonderful opportunities to support positive change.B次元官网网址�
The Public Safety Ministry will start a recruitment process to choose her successor, who is then appointed by an order of the lieutenant governor after a merit-based process. The initial term may be three to five years, and then re-appointments of up to five years can be made.
