The inquest into the 2010 death of a Mayo RCMP officer has been put on hold to give the federal government a chance to make an application before the court.

The inquest into the death of Const. Michael Potvin was originally scheduled to go forward on May 14.

But late last week, the Yukon's chief coroner, Sharon Hanley, announced she was postponing the public hearing.

"The Attorney General of Canada intends to make an application regarding the inquest before a judge,” the announcement said. "A new date for the inquest has not been set.”

Speaking to the Star Monday afternoon, Hanley said she could not provide many details about the government's application except to say that it "had to do with jurisdictional issues and the fact that the RCMP is a federal body.”

The application will be heard sometime this month in front of Judge Karen Ruddy.

The territorial court judge will also be overseeing the inquest itself when it is rescheduled.

Hanley said it is not uncommon for judges to be appointed coroners for the purpose of overseeing inquests.

"Inquests are becoming very involved, so this is what we decided to do in this case,” she said.

The inquest will still be heard by a jury. Its members will be responsible for listening to the facts and, if they choose, giving recommendations for how to prevent similar deaths.

Potvin drowned in the Stewart River on July 13, 2010.

He and an unnamed corporal from the Mayo detachment had taken the boat out on a maintenance run when it began taking on water.

Neither Potvin nor the other officer was wearing a life jacket, but the personal flotation devices were in the boat, the RCMP said at the time.

However, Potvin was wearing his duty belt, which can weigh more than 20 lbs.

While the other officer stayed with the floundering boat and was later rescued, Potvin attempted to swim to shore.

Potvin, 26, had recently been transferred to the Mayo detachment from Watson Lake, where he had served his first six months with the RCMP. He was originally from eastern Ontario.

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