In the business of saving lives, is overkill possible? A municipal council in Yellowknife thinks so. Late last year it revised its procedural bylaw after the chief coroner in the Northwest Territories, Percy Kinney, hauled a body bag to the podium as he made a request for an underwater rescue team. "I do not believe the presentation was objectionable," Kinney told CMAJ. "The presence of a body bag at the meeting may have been disturbing to some but it was meant to be. What better way to illustrate the seriousness of the message?"
Kinney's August presentation occurred 14 months after a drowning that investigators concluded might have been averted by a rescue team. The local fire department expressed interest in providing this service, but city administrators and a committee recommended against it. Kinney's appearance persuaded council to find the money. "Percy's presentation was respectful, factual and effective," said Councillor Bob Brooks. "All presentations should have such qualities. . . . Using tools in a demonstration is always a better way to get your point across. It was a clean and empty bag. It would have been objectionable only if there was a body in it." FIGURE
![Figure](https://www.cmaj.ca/content/cmaj/162/3/389.2/F1.medium.gif)
Figure. Coroner Percy Kinney: making a point with a body bag
"I did not find this objectionable," agreed Councillor Kevin O'Reilly.
However, 4 other councillors (Robert Slaven, Cheryl Best, Blake Lyons, and Ben McDonald) were critical. "I was upset by the theatrics," said Ben McDonald. "Good decisions are usually made for good reasons, not out of emotion or guilt." To prevent council from being "pressured" in the future, McDonald decided to draft changes to Yellowknife's procedural bylaw.
After researching the issue, he decided it would be impractical to prohibit much more than swearing, disrespectful speech and personal attacks on councillors or city staff. As a result, the revisions contain nothing that would stop Kinney from reappearing with his body bag.
In any case, some councillors indicated that their support for McDonald's changes was unrelated to the coroner's actions. Councillor Cheryl Best said she was more concerned about a July budget meeting at which ratepayers "resorted to swearing, name calling and questioning the motives and integrity of certain councillors."