Chief coroner to meet with 'profoundly frustrated' First Nation leader

Efforts to address problems with death investigations in Ontario's remote First Nations have "not been adequate", according to the province's chief coroner.

The failure of a coroner to attend the scene of death of two First Nations children who died last year of preventable illnesses in two separate communities is prompting renewed calls from the Nishnawbe Aski Nation for the coroner's office to address the issue.

The death of the second child in May 2014, might have been prevented if a proper investigation had been done into the similar death months earlier, Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said.

"What is so frustrating about this is that we have children dying in our communities and yet they're not being given the attention they should be given," he said.

'We know this is a problem'

Provincial guidelines require coroners to attend the scene of death. It's a fact that was reiterated in the 2008 Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario. The report also called for the coroners' office to track any non-attendance by coroners.

"We have not effectively tracked the attendance or non-attendance," Ontario's Chief Coroner Dr. Dirk Huyer told CBC News. "But I can tell you we know that this is a problem and continues to be a problem within our system."

In a May 2015 letter Fiddler wrote to Huyer expressing "profound frustration that the deaths of our children are not being taken more seriously."

"All we ask is that the investigating coroners in the north engage with our communities in accordance with the letter and spirit of the law, and in the same manner as in other Ontario communities," Fiddler wrote. "We are waiting to work with them to be part of the solution moving forward."

Huyer said he is keen to meet with Fiddler to address the issue.

"I recognize that we have not been meeting the intent to go to all scenes and attend at all bodies specifically in First Nations and other remote communities in the province," Huyer said on Tuesday. "Clearly those steps that we have taken have not been adequate to address the issue and I am committed to developing a solution to addressing this ongoing problem."

Huyer said he expects a meeting with Fiddler to be scheduled soon.

Also coming soon, he said, is new technology in the coroner's office that will allow it to collect statistics on the attendance of coroners at death scenes.