After Youth’s Death Following 8-Hour ER Wait, Family Calls for Inquest and Law Reform

Ambulances are parked at the entrance to the emergency department in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

An Ontario family is asking for an inquest and calling on the province to set limitations on emergency room wait times for children, after their son died following an eight-hour wait last year.

GJ and Hazel van der Werken, of Burlington, Ont., said their 16-year-old son, Finlay, was taken to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital on Feb. 7, 2024, after suffering with a mild illness that got worse.