The misidentification of a Humboldt Broncos hockey player as deceased was a difficult mistake made during a “complex process,” Ministry of Justice spokesperson Drew Wilby said.
Wilby spoke on behalf of Saskatchewan’s Office of the Chief Coroner, which revealed Monday that it had incorrectly identified 18-year-old Xavier Labelle as one of the Humboldt Broncos players killed by the bus crash north of Tisdale on Friday night.
The deceased player was Parker Tobin, an 18-year-old from Stony Plain, Alberta.
Wilby said two coroners have been putting in long hours, both at the crash scene on Highway 35 and in Saskatoon, working with family members to identify their loved ones.
“This has affected everybody in a fairly significant way,” Wilby said about the identification error.
“I would say that the coroners are doing the best work that they can. They’re dealing with some very, very difficult circumstances. Something like this really is unprecedented in Saskatchewan’s history.”
Because of that, Wilby suggested this type of error would be an anomaly within the coroner’s office.
A review of the office is already underway, sparked by matters that happened prior to the misidentification. Retired Saskatoon police chief Clive Weighill began conducting the sweeping review in December and is expected to present his recommendations, which will be public, this summer.
The review will not delve into specific cases but will look at the overall performance and function of the office. Wilby said the misidentification of the hockey players may become a part of Weighill’s external review, and will likely be reviewed internally as well.
“They’ll definitely look at what occurred here and how best to move forward from it and learn some lessons,” he said.
The external review was ordered following a lawsuit against the Saskatchewan government and its chief forensic pathologist. A jury in Regina found Dr. Shaun Ladham and the coroner’s office failed to prepare and provide a required written assessment on a doctor who wanted to be a forensic pathologist in the province.