Message from the Body Transportation Working Group of the Office of the Chief Coroner 

The BAO is sharing this message from the Body Transportation Working Group, of the Office of the Chief Coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, Ministry of the Solicitor General. 

…………………………….. 

TO:  All Ontario Funeral Establishments and Transfer Service Operators

FROM: Body Transportation Working Group

RE: Proposed direction for the Phase 2 RFR for Body Transportation Services

DATE: December 15, 2023

We are writing to provide an important update on Ontario’s body transportation services.

As you may know, our working group was formed to provide service providers an opportunity to directly participate in the design of Phase 2 of the body transportation initiative which includes areas of the province not covered in the Phase 1 rollout. Our eight-member group includes six representatives from the funeral services sector from different regions in the province and two from the Office of the Chief Coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service.

We worked together to understand and address the unique needs of service providers in different regions of the province, recognizing there is a profound difference between urban and rural areas. These discussions supported development of the enhanced fee schedule that was approved by the government and implemented this year. Further discussions, with the benefit of shared experiences, have resulted in preparing the draft Phase 2 approach.

In recognition that different regions and geographic areas have unique aspects and have more individual needs, the proposal for Phase 2 is equity-based and allows for regional variation. Details of the proposed approach for Phase 2 follow this message.

We invite all funeral establishments and transfer service operators to attend a virtual town hall discussion on the proposed Phase 2 program on January 23^rd, 2024 from 10:00am – 12:00pm. The link to the meeting and details are included below.

Vendors may also submit feedback on the proposed program to OCC.OFPS.Transportation@Ontario.ca. 

We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this draft proposal.

Sincerely,
The Members of the Body Transportation Working Group 

Proposed approach to call distribution in phase 2:

• The default approach to call distribution by Provincial Dispatch will be ‘closest to the scene.’
• If the closest service provider is unavailable, the next closest provider shall be contacted, and so on.
• If service providers in areas or regions would like a different method for call distribution or an on-call schedule, they must approach the OCC/OFPS and provide a proposed solution that satisfies the following criteria:
  • All Vendors in the area must agree to the schedule or method of call  distribution.
  • New Vendors will be allowed to participate (subject to the refresh period).
  • Outline the geographic boundaries of the on-call area.
  • All Vendors agree to accept calls anywhere in the region.
  • If a service provider is on-call and would like another provider to perform the transfer, it will be the duty of the service provider to arrange a suitable alternate service provider and then update Provincial Dispatch.

Note: To be eligible for invoicing, body transport services arrangements must be made through Provincial Dispatch.

Virtual Town Hall Discussion Meeting Link: 

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Meeting ID: 233 060 256 337 

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