New tracking system increases transparency
A new online system will publicly track fatality inquiry recommendations and responses to them to improve accountability and help prevent future deaths.
The tracking system was designed and created by Justice and Solicitor General and is available online on the Government of Alberta’s Open Data Portal.
“Albertans who lose loved ones deserve to know that we are doing all we can to prevent similar deaths in the future. Up until now, recommendations from public fatality inquiries were not tracked, and neither were responses to the recommendations. We are proud to be the first government to bring in this new tracking system which will increase transparency and accountability in the process.”
Kathleen Ganley, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General
The new tracking system was developed following two recent recommendations by provincial court judges in their fatality inquiry reports (Judge Rosborough’s report, Judge Dinkel’s report). It will track responses to fatality inquiry recommendations on a go-forward basis and include:
o Deceased’s name.
o Date of report.
o Cause and manner of death.
o Relevant circumstances.
o List of the specific recommendations.
o Name of the entity responsible (government department/organizations) to address the recommendation.
o Status of the response (either waiting for response, accepted, accepted in principle, rejected, other or no response) and a date of the response.
o The response, in full, from the entity responsible
Fatality inquiries are meant to be transparent and open processes. The purpose of a fatality inquiry is not to act as a criminal or civil court but to lay out the facts relating to the circumstances of death, the cause and manner of death and, when possible, recommend how to prevent similar fatalities in the future.
Quick facts
• The tracking system is available online at https://open.alberta.ca/publications.
• Fatality inquiry reports will continue to be posted online, with a link(s) added to the tracking system.
• Alberta’s first fatality inquiry report was released in 1975.