Dr. Elizabeth Brooks-Lim said Serenity’s case, which led to a ministerial panel and calls for the human services minister to resign, was tragic and said she’s been following it since 2014, when the girl died. Brooks-Lim was previously the acting interim chief medical examiner and has worked in the office since 2011.

The delay in completing the autopsy report was caused by the complexity of the case and the fact that outside experts had to be consulted, she said.

A small percentage of cases require these outside experts, such as brain specialists or forensic anthropologists who specialize in bone remains.

“The Serenity case was very specific. It was a complex case file. Our staff worked diligently on that case file,” Brooks-Lim said.

Emaciated and suffering from hypothermia, the four-year-old indigenous girl died in September 2014 after being airlifted to the Stollery Children’s Hospital with a catastrophic brain injury.

Her 18-pound body was covered in bruises, including bruises to her genital and anal areas. Serenity and her siblings had been living in kinship care with private guardians. No charges have been laid in relation to her death.

The case raised questions about turmoil in the medical examiner’s office after Postmedia revealed the report took two years to complete. 

Brooks-Lim said her focus was on the work, not media reports of turmoil, but admitted that delays for routine case files have been increasing. She said the problem was mostly due to the province’s increasing population and the fact that the medical examiner’s office has been short-staffed.

“With our routine reporting, there is a backlog and there is a delay. It’s because we have a very, very high case load,” she said.

In 2014, one per cent of the office’s cases took longer than nine months. In 2015, that number rose to 1.75 per cent.

The office usually employs eight medical examiners, but has been making do with seven and Brooks-Lim said the medical examiners simply can’t find the time to write their reports. After working in the lab all morning, there’s often not enough time for paperwork and her staff will sometimes work evenings and weekends, for no overtime, just to get their reports finished.

“That’s how dedicated the staff are here. One of the main reasons I’m here is because our staff is outstanding and they’re trying their best with limited resources,” she said.

Brooks-Lim said she hasn’t requested a budget increase or more staff, but “just like every other branch and department in government, we would always welcome more resources.”

Adding to the workload was a Supreme Court ruling in July that set caps of 18 months for criminal cases before the provincial courts and 30 months for superior courts. Cases can be stayed if the cap is exceeded. Brooks-Lim said her office is aware of the decision and prioritizes cases that may go to trial.

It’s a fine balance, though. While a quick report can bring some measure of closure for families and keep the courts running smoothly, Brooks-Lim said she doesn’t want her staff rushing their reports. 

Brooks-Lim also said she has reached out to Del Graff, the province’s child and youth advocate, to open up the lines of communication. Postmedia reported that Graff’s office was never forwarded Serenity’s autopsy report and couldn’t even get a response from the medical examiner’s office when it requested information.

Now that she’s permanently in the job, Brooks-Lim hopes to have regular communication with Graff and his office, but she stressed that there will be limits.

“On certain occasions, we don’t release reports to interested parties because there’s still an ongoing police investigation,” she said. “It’s not that we’re not wishing to release the report publicly … it’s because we’re ensuring the integrity of a police investigation.”