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  Dr.
James Young
Special Advisor to the Deputy Minister
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Government of Canada
Dr. James G. Young
has recently been appointed Special Advisor
to the Minister, Public Safety and Emergency
Preparedness for the Government of Canada
At one point during his tenure with the
Province of Ontario, Dr. James Young held
three concurrent positions. He was appointed
Chief Coroner and General Inspector of Anatomy
for the province of Ontario on March 31,
1990. On June 1, 1994, he was assigned the
position of Assistant Deputy Minister, Public
Safety Division, Ministry of the Solicitor
General and Correctional Services (as of
April 15, 2002, the ministry's name was changed
to the Ministry of Public Safety and Security).
Most recently on June 26, 2002, Dr. Young
was appointed Ontario's first Commissioner
of Public Security. Dr. Young is responsible
for maintaining and enhancing physical and
economic security in Ontario by working with
a number of diverse partners and stakeholders
located both within and outside the province.
The Assistant Deputy Minister oversees: Emergency
Measures Ontario; the Centre of Forensic
Sciences; the Office of the Fire Marshal;
and the Office of the Chief Coroner. This
position is also responsible for administering
the Ontario Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Act. From April 1994 to
June 1997, he was appointed an Associate
Professor in the Department of Laboratory
Medicine and Pathobiology at the University
of Toronto. Since July 1997, he has held
the position of Associate Professor, Department
of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at
the University of Toronto. In April 2001,
he became an Associate Professor in Forensic
Sciences, University of Toronto at Mississauga.
Dr. Young has held prominent positions responding
to numerous national and international disasters
and emergency situations. On April 20 2002,
he supervised the autopsies of four Canadian
soldiers killed in Afghanistan under friendly
fire by the United States. In September 2001,
he was appointed Chief Medical, Emergency
and Forensic Services Adviser for the Canadian
Consulate General. In this capacity, he was
responsible for coordinating the efforts
to identify 24 Canadians thought to be missing
and presumed dead as a result of the terrorist
activities which occurred at the World Trade
Center in New York City on September 11,
2001. He held a key role in the province's
successful response to the emergency concerning
the January 1998 ice storm which devastated
eastern Ontario. He was responsible for leading
the central operation and communicated the
results to the public through the media.
In July 1998, he led a five member international
medical team from Great Britain, the United
States and Canada to examine the circumstances
surrounding the sudden and unexpected death
of Chief Moshood Abiola, the elected Nigerian
President who was imprisoned before taking
office. Chief Abiola, died in jail on July
7th while meeting a group of officials from
the United States who were visiting him in
custody. Following his death, there was rioting
in the streets which resulted in several
deaths. The investigation team was established
to determine the cause and manner of death
and to de-escalate the rising tensions in
the country. In September/ October 1998,
he provided expert support and guidance to
the Chief Medical Examiner of Nova Scotia
in managing the entire process required to
identify the victims of Swiss Air flight
number 111 which crashed into the Atlantic
Ocean off the coast of Peggy's Cove, Nova
Scotia on September 2, 1998 killing all 229
people aboard. He coordinated the collection
of ante-mortem files, the forensic examination
of the remains, and the cross referencing
of the information collected so that positive
identifications could be made and communicated
to the next-of-kin.
Prior to his appointment as Chief Coroner,
Dr. Young served as the province's Deputy
Chief Coroner for just over two years. In
October 1982, Dr. Young was appointed Regional
Coroner for Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario's
largest regional jurisdiction. In 1985, his
duties were broadened as he was appointed
the position of Regional Coroner for Central
Region. Dr. Young served as an investigative
coroner for Simcoe County from 1977 to 1982.
During this time he investigated and inquested
a wide variety of cases.
Dr. Young has reviewed cases and given expert
advice throughout Canada, many states of
the United States and several countries including
Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, Bermuda
and England.
As Chief Coroner, Dr. Young is responsible
for overseeing various committees such as:
the Anaesthesia Advisory; Geriatric and Long
Term Care Review; Maternal Death Review and
Paediatric Review Committees. He is currently
affiliated with several associations in the
following capacities:
· Vice President and Fellow of
the American Academy of Forensic Sciences;
· Board Member and Past President of the International
Coroners' Association;
· Past-President of the Toronto Medico-Legal Society;
· Member of the Canadian Association of Chief Coroners
and Medical Examiners;
· Member of the Ontario Coroners' Association;
· Public Representative, Governing Council,
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario;
· Member of the Committee on the Mentally Disordered
Offender, Ministry of · the Solicitor General and Correctional
Services;
· Member of the Mercury Study Programme Committee
(in conjunction with the Federal Government);
· Member of the Ministry of Health's Trauma Registry
Advisory Committee.
Past affiliations include the following
positions:
· with the American Academy of Forensic Sciences:
Member of the Ethics Committee; Chair, General
Section; Secretary, General Section; Chairperson,
General Section Programme, (February 14 -
19, 1993); Chair, General Section, Membership
Criteria Review and Promotions Review Committee;
General Section, Membership and Screening
Committee;
· with the International Association of Coroners and
Medical Examiners: Chairman, Board of Directors;
Past President; and President;
· with the Toronto Medical Legal Society: President,
Advisory Board Member, Second Vice President, Third
Vice President; Secretary; Co-Chair, and Member of
the Programme Committee;
· Member, Special Investigation Unit (SIU) Protocol
Committee, Ministry of the Solicitor General and
Correctional Services;
· Member, Board of Directors, Toronto Safety Council;
· Member of the Minister's Committee on Drinking and
Driving;
· Member on the Inter-ministerial Committee on Child
Abuse;
· Member of the Labour Management Health and Safety
Committee;
· Member of the Ministry of Solicitor General's Steering
Committee on Access to the Information and Protection
of Privacy Act;
· Member of the Ontario Medical Association
including Member of the Association's Accidental
Injuries Committee
and Member of the Hospitals and Rural Farm Safety
Committee;
· President of the Caduceus Club;
· Member of the Paediatric Trauma Committee affiliated
with the Hospital for Sick Children;
· Member of the Children's Bike Helmet Coalition.
Dr. Young has an outstanding scholastic
record. He graduated from the University
of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine in 1975.
Throughout his eight years of university
Dr. Young served on a variety of faculty
and student committees and worked for the
Globe and Mail as a sports writer. In this
capacity, he covered a full range of major
sporting events. Upon receiving his medical
degree, Dr. Young interned at the Scarborough
General Hospital where he obtained extensive
training in obstetrics and neurosurgery.
He was the Chief Intern and his responsibilities
included overseeing a team of twelve interns.
Dr. Young is the recipient of the 2001 Gerber-Buzbee
Award presented by the International Association
of Coroners and Medical Examiners for outstanding
contribution to the Association. Dr. Young
received an Appreciation Award in June 2001
from the Ontario Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA). In 2000, Dr.
Young received the John R Hunt Award from
the General Section of the American Academy
of Forensic Sciences for outstanding contribution
to forensic sciences. Dr. Young is the recipient
of two Ontario Government Amethyst Awards
for work on the Swiss Air Crash flight 111
(1999) and the 1998 Ice Storm. Dr. Young
is the recipient of the Douglas Leer Award
presented by the Council on Suicide Prevention
of Metropolitan Toronto in recognition for
his contribution and assistance into suicide
prevention research (1991). He has also been
very active with the Ministry of Solicitor
General's United Way (Chair in 1988 and Co-Chair
in 1987) and Federated Health Campaigns (Chair,
Special Events 1986).
Throughout his distinguished career as a
coroner, Dr. Young has presided over numerous
high profile inquests examining a broad spectrum
of issues such as: the quality of institutional
care; the quality control of medical procedures,
devices and equipment including liposuction
and blood bags; midwifery and home deliveries;
police shootings; deaths in custody; mandatory
drug testing in the workplace; the accessibility
of illicit drugs to youth in the street;
and water safety.
In August 1992, Dr. Young completed a very
complex inquest into the death of Jonathan
Yeo. The inquest examined bail issues, police
investigative procedures, the management
and role of the health care system, and the
evaluation of psychiatric disorders that
relate to violence and the laws and regulations
that restrict the transfer of such information
to police and custodial officials who are
responsible for dealing with these cases.
Dr. Young is a regular lecturer at: the
Department of Anthropology, University of
Toronto; the Faculty of Medicine at Queen's
University at Kingston; the Faculty of Nursing
and Department of Funeral Services at Humber
College; the Department of Ambulance Services
at Centennial College; the Ontario Police
College in Alymer; the Ontario Provincial
Police Academy in Orillia; CO Bick College
(Toronto Police Services Academy); and the
Ontario Fire College.
Dr. Young lectures extensively to provincial
organizations which include: the Law Society
of Upper Canada, both at special programmes
and at the Bar Admission Course and at the
annual Ontario Crown Attorneys School. He
also lectures at a wide variety of national
and international conferences across Canada
and the United States including: the Canadian
Academy of Forensic Sciences; the American
Academy of Forensic Sciences; the International
Association of Coroners; and the FBI. In
November 1992, Dr. Young was the keynote
speaker concerning medico-legal issues involved
with establishing an Organ Donor Programme
at the Japanese Ethics Association in Koyota,
Japan. He also lectured concerning overcoming
medico-legal problems and establishing an
Organ Donor Programme at Tokiwa University
in Mito, Japan. In 1999, he lectured to the
Israeli Police on forensic issues.
Upon graduating medical school and desiring
a medical career that would allow him to
practice a wide range of medicine Dr. Young
moved to Elmvale Ontario where he established
and ran an extremely successful and flourishing
general practice. His hospital privileges
included both the Penetanguishene and Huronia
General Hospitals. Dr. Young assumed a variety
of administrative responsibilities at the
Penetanguishene General Hospital including:
President of the medical staff; Chairman
of Long Range Planning; Chairman of Admission,
Discharge and Utilization; and Head of the
Chronic Care Unit.
Throughout his career as a physician and
coroner Dr. Young has been a prolific writer.
From 1981 to 1984 he was a contributing writer
to the Ontario Medical Association. He regularly
contributed medical columns on varying topics
for publication in weekly newspapers throughout
Ontario. He has co-authored many publications
including: The Roles of Coroner and Counsel
in Coroner's Court; "A Coroner's View
Regarding the Right to Die Debate",
Suicide in Canada: Inquests do good - not
harm; Preventable Pediatric Trauma Deaths
in a Metropolitan Region; Accidental deaths
in Ontario children: implications for prevention;
and Guns and Suicide: Possible Effects of
Some Specific Legislation.
last reviewed
November 13, 2005
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