PCs push for new details on overflowing St. John's morgue

They might be out of sight, but the industrial freezers that were holding dozens of bodies in a parking garage outside the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's are not out of mind for PC health critic Barry Petten.

On March 6, CBC News first reported that 28 bodies were being stored in freezer units in an alleyway outside the Health Sciences Centre due to a lack of space in the morgue, which doubles as the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

In July, the Newfoundland and Labrador government transferred the bodies into three new freezer units in the hospital's underground parking garage.

Now, four months later, Petten is looking for an update. He brought his concern to the floor of the House of Assembly on Thursday.

"How many bodies are presently in the parking garage at the Health Sciences Centre?" Petten the governing Liberals. 

Health Minister John Hogan responded to Petten, but didn't provide the numbers, citing privacy concerns.

"There are, obviously, a number of bodies there and some which are the responsibility of NLHS [and] some are with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner," Hogan said.

The number of bodies stored was not private information in July.

"The number was released at 30, and now, all of a sudden, it is a secret," Petten said.

PC MHA Paul Dinn spoke to reporters after question period on Thursday. He raised concerns similar to Petten.

Both PC MHAs want families to have the option to give their loved ones a proper burial if they are stored in one of the freezers. 

Dinn said he doesn't understand how providing an update would be a privacy breach.

"You're not asking what communities these bodies came from or how they ended up where they are. You're simply asking a number question," he said. "I'm at a loss as to why that would be considered a privacy breach."

In the legislature, Hogan agreed with Petten on the need for proper burials.