What is the Purpose of the Medical Certificate of Death?

The Medical Certificate of Death provides mortality statistics that inform public health systems. This form is required by Statistics Canada to produce estimates of population, monitor demographics, monitor health trends, contribute to studies, support government policy, and assist with disease surveillance and epidemiological analyses. The statistics obtained form the basis for health and demographic indicators including life expectancy, infant mortality, fertility, cause of death, and mortality rates (eHealth Saskatchewan, nd).

The Medical Certificate of Death is encompassed under the Vital Statistics Act, 2009 in which the purpose is to record the occurrence in Saskatchewan of deaths on the basis of information provided to the registrar by a person who has the duty to register the event. The Vital Statistics Act, 2009 governs the completion of documents relating to the death of a human being. The process of registering a death is a permanent legal record of death from which official copies are made and includes two parts (eHealth Saskatchewan, n.d.):

1. Medical Certificate of Death- completed by a physician, nurse practitioner, or coroner who serves as the “certifier” of the death. The Medical Certificate of Death goes to the funeral director or person in charge of the body.
2. Statement of the Death- this is the responsibility of the funeral director or anyone who takes charge of the body for burial, cremation, or other disposition to forward on to vital statistics for further processing.