British Columbia has appointed Dr. Jatinder (Taj) Baidwan as the new chief coroner, announced by the Public Safety Minister on Thursday, August 8th. Dr. Baidwan has been part of the BC Coroners Service for the past seven years, serving as the chief medical officer.
During his tenure, Dr. Baidwan played a pivotal role in restructuring the coroner’s service, establishing a province-wide postmortem diagnostic network. He also led investigations into the 2021 heat dome fatalities and the COVID-19 pandemic’s death toll.
Before joining the BC Coroners Service in 2017, Dr. Baidwan was the executive vice-president and chief medical officer for Island Health, overseeing healthcare delivery for Vancouver Island’s nearly one million residents. He is a fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners in the UK and holds accreditation from the Canadian College of Family Physicians.
Dr. Baidwan is recognized as an experienced leader in health systems, with a strong background in both Canadian and international healthcare sectors.
