Ontario intends to do away with mandatory coroner’s inquests for workers who died on construction sites, the government said Thursday.

Instead, the province will conduct an annual review of construction site deaths in an effort to alleviate pressure on overloaded coroners and to give answers to families sooner, Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said.

Inquests of all kinds usually take years from the time of deaths until they are conducted, and similar deaths are often examined together.

The changes are part of a new omnibus justice bill the province tabled Thursday. Kerzner said it’s an effort to speed up the inquest system.

“This lengthy process may not identify overarching health and safety trends and construction that could contribute to such deaths,” he said.

“With this act, the new changes would require construction-based deaths to be subject to a coroner-led mandatory review at least once a year.”

Families and the construction industry can still ask for an inquest by the Office of the Chief Coroner, which has the discretion to call one.

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