SASKATOON — The Government of Saskatchewan has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking temporary cold body storage in Saskatoon, it says to manage overflow from hospital morgues used by the provincial coroner.
The RFP was posted by the Ministry of SaskBuilds and Procurement on Oct. 28, with a submission deadline of Nov. 19. The RFP invites submissions from "qualified proponents" to provide on-demand cold storage facilities for deceased individuals.
When contacted by SaskToday for comment, the Procurement Management Division of the Ministry of SaskBuilds and Procurement, which posted the RFP, responded, saying, “Thank you for your questions. These have been forwarded to the representatives of the Saskatchewan Coroners Services.”
An unnamed representative from the Saskatchewan Coroners Service, responding via a Saskatchewan Justice email address on Nov. 6, declined to comment directly on the RFP, saying, “The Saskatchewan Coroners Service is unable to comment on an active RFP.” All questions were directed back to the SaskTenders website.
According to the RFP synopsis, the Saskatchewan Coroners Service investigates approximately 3,000 sudden, unexpected and unnatural deaths annually. These cases often require the use of hospital morgues to store decedents pending autopsy, next-of-kin notification, or further investigation.
“There are times when the hospital morgue space will be insufficient and additional temporary cold body storage space is needed for those times,” reads the RFP posting.
This isn’t the first time the province has sought extra morgue capacity. According to CBC Saskatchewan, in December 2020, the SCS obtained two refrigerated storage units for use as secure holding facilities in Saskatoon and Regina to manage needs at that time.
The full RFP and submission details are available on the provincial procurement portal at SaskTenders.
ljoy@sasktoday.ca
