Tour bus company charged with health and safety violations in fatal Jasper icefields rollover
CBC
The company operating a tour bus that crashed in the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park in 2020 has been charged under Alberta's Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Brewster Inc. is charged with eight counts under the act, including failing to control hazards and failing to ensure equipment was in safe operating condition.
The charges, announced Friday afternoon by Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), include failing to ensure workers and passengers were safe on the vehicle and in the vicinity of the worksite.
Two of the charges allege Brewster did not maintain seat belts on the vehicle for its on-board employee, nor did it mandate their use.
Four of the charges — one each for the employee and three passengers — allege the company did not control the "hazard of the grade of the slope of the lateral moraine."
The final two charges against the company cite failure to ensure equipment would safety perform its intended function and failure to ensure equipment was free from obvious defects.
Three people were killed and 14 others had life-threatening injuries on July 18, 2020, when one of Brewster's all-terrain Ice Explorers — a glacier sightseeing vehicle — rolled off a road on the Columbia Icefield, about 100 kilometres southeast of Jasper, Alta.
The vehicle, carrying 27 people, rolled about 50 metres down a moraine embankment before coming to rest on its roof. A total of 24 people were injured. The bus driver sustained serious injuries.
Tanya Otis, director of media and communications with Brewster, issued a statement Friday.
"We continue to support a transparent and multi-agency investigation into this tragic accident," she said in an email. "Due to active legal proceedings, we are unable to comment on the specifics of the case."
The case is scheduled for June 23 in Jasper provincial court.
At least two civil cases are seeking compensation for survivors and the families of the victims have been launched in the crash.
Basil Bansal, a partner of Diamond and Diamond Lawyers representing seven plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit against the company, said charges under the health and safety act are a positive step for their clients.
"Their life has been changed fairly dramatically and they may not be the same," Bansal said in an interview Friday. "But at least these new charges do bring the law in the right direction as far as justice is concerned."
Saskatoon city hall administration is planning to "refresh" the funding strategy for the proposed $1.2-billion downtown arena district amid a lack of commitments from higher levels of government.
A report of fraud tied to a walleye derby is under investigation after Montreal Lake Cree Nation said a participant allegedly violated derby rules and was asked to leave the fishing area.
An Edmonton architectural firm says it is in talks with the provincial government to potentially redevelop the former Royal Alberta Museum.
Does junior football have a future in Prince George?
People are descending upon the city for the dozens of events and live music performances this week as the Juno Awards are set to take place Sunday at Hamilton's TD Coliseum.
For nearly two decades, Amanda Loewen's world ended where the pavement did.
The notion that home ownership guarantees financial security in old age is being challenged by a recent survey.
The family of Nash Prystie has identified him as the man who died in an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) shooting earlier this month north of Kenora, and is calling for more and quicker help for people with mental health challenges.
Playoff action in the Ontario Hockey League gets underway Thursday night for Guelph and Friday in Kitchener.
UPEI wants its faculty to sign on to an updated version of its sexual assault and discrimination policy, but the union that represents the school's academic staff says it wants the policies to be part of its collective agreement.
In Texas this week for a global energy conference, the federal natural resources minister is proclaiming "Canada is back" and ready to bolster its energy sector and grow exports.
Members of Parliament last year went on the fewest sponsored international trips in the last 15 years, excluding the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ontario is running out of time to beef up rules that would crack down on negligent and misbehaving municipal politicians ahead of the next civic election, some experts and opposition critics warn.