APPENDIX II
EXCERPT FROM ONTARIO’S
VITAL STATISTICS ACT
,
R.S.0. 1990 c.V.4
Registration of Deaths
35. (1) Upon the request of the funeral director, the applicable one of the following persons shall complete, certify and
deliver to the funeral director a statement in the form approved by the Registrar General that contains personal
particulars of the deceased:
1. The nearest relative present at the death or last illness, or any relative who may be available.
2. If no relative is available, the occupier of the premises in which the deceased died or, if the occupier is the
deceased, any adult person residing in the premises who was present at the death or has knowledge of
the personal particulars.
3. If the death occurred in unoccupied premises and no relative is available, any adult person who was
present at the death or has knowledge of the personal particulars.
4. The coroner who has been notified of the death and has made an investigation or held an inquest
regarding the death. O. Reg. 68/09, s. 22.
(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), any legally qualified medical practitioner who has been in attendance during
the last illness of a deceased person or who has sufficient knowledge of the last illness shall immediately after
the death complete and sign a medical certificate of death in the form approved by the Registrar General,
stating the cause of death according to the classification of diseases adopted by reference in section 70, and
shall deliver the medical certificate to the funeral director. O. Reg. 68/09, s. 22.
(3) A registered nurse who holds an extended certificate of registration under the Nursing Act, 1991 shall,
immediately after the death of a person, complete and sign a medical certificate of death in the form
approved by the Registrar General, stating the cause of death according to the classification of
diseases adopted by reference in section 70 and shall deliver the medical certificate to the funeral
director if,
a) the nurse has had primary responsibility for the care of the deceased during the last illness of the
deceased;
b) the death was expected during the last illness of the deceased;
c) there was a documented medical diagnosis of a terminal disease for the deceased made by a
legally qualified medical practitioner during the last illness of the deceased;
d) there was a predictable pattern of decline for the deceased during the last illness of the deceased;
and
e) there were no unexpected events or unexpected complications during the last illness of the
deceased. O. Reg. 68/09, s. 22.
(4) In the case of a death of which the coroner is required to be notified under section 10 of the Coroners Act, the
coroner notified shall, as soon as the cause of death is known, complete and sign a medical certificate of death
in the form approved by the Registrar General, stating the cause of death according to the classification of
diseases adopted by reference in section 70, and shall deliver the medical certificate to the funeral director.
O. Reg. 68/09, s. 22.
(5) Upon receiving the statement containing the personal particulars and upon receiving the medical certificate of
death or a warrant to bury, the funeral director shall complete the statement containing personal particulars,
setting out the proposed date and place of burial, cremation or other disposition or the removal of the body, and
shall deliver the documents so received to the division registrar of,
a) the registration division within which the death occurs, if the place of death is known; or
b) the registration division within which the body is found, if the place of death is not known. O. Reg. 68/09,
s. 22.
36. (1) If, within one year from the day of the death of a person, the division registrar receives the statement containing
the personal particulars and receives the medical certificate of death or a warrant to bury and if the division
registrar is satisfied as to the correctness and sufficiency of them, the division registrar shall register the death
by signing the documents so received; in that case, the documents so received constitute the registration of the
death. O. Reg. 68/09, s. 22.
(2) A division registrar shall not register any death after one year from the day of the death. O. Reg. 68/09, s. 22.