A Question of Government Accountability
At the heart of the case, Fox said, is whether governments can be held legally responsible when they fail to correct hazards they knew existed. The fatal collision occurred April 6, 2018, at the intersection of Highways 335 and 35 near Tisdale.
“That intersection remained unsafe despite repeated warnings for over 20 years,” Fox said.
She pointed to a crash more than two decades earlier in which a British Columbia family of six was killed at the same crossing. An RCMP investigation at the time recommended changes to improve sight lines, recommendations Fox said were never implemented.
Only after the Broncos bus was struck did the province move to make the suggested improvements, a sequence Fox believes sets this case apart from others.
The Crash That Shook a Nation
The Broncos bus was en route to Nipawin for a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League game when it was hit by a semi-truck driven by Alberta resident Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, who ran a stop sign. Sixteen people were killed and 13 others injured.
Sidhu pleaded guilty in 2019 to 29 charges and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
