Sask. judge dismisses 2018 lawsuit from 5 Humboldt Broncos families

A Sask. judge has ruled provincial laws don’t violate charter rights, dismissing a lawsuit over the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash.

A Regina judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of victims’ families in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash.

The crash on April 6, 2018, resulted in the deaths of 16 people and injuries to 13 others, when a semi collided with the Broncos team bus at the intersection of Highways 35 and 335 near Tisdale.

Following the crash, the parents of players Adam Herold, Jaxon Joseph, Logan Hunter, Jacob Leicht and assistant coach Mark Cross launched a lawsuit against the driver of the semi, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, his employer, the bus manufacturer MCIL and the Government of Saskatchewan – arguing claims of negligence.

More specifically, the families argued their inability to sue the province violated their rights under Section 7 of the Charter. The victims’ families sought to sue the province and hold it accountable for the “faulty design, construction and maintenance” of Armley Corner and the intersection of Highways 35 and 355, where the fatal crash occurred.

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In an amended statement of claim in August 2023, the families argued the provisions of Saskatchewan’s Automobile Accident Insurance Act (AAIA,) The Fatal Accidents Act (FAA) and the Workers Compensation Act (WCA) violated their constitutional rights by not allowing them to sue for claims of negligence.

In a decision dated Dec. 16, Court of King’s Bench Judge Graeme Mitchell found the lawsuit cannot proceed, saying the allegations made in a proposed pleading “are not sound in law” and the pleading’s “fundamental premise is unprovable.”

“While it may be argued that their quality of life has been radically affected by the premature deaths of their respective loved ones, this does not and cannot engage the right to life under s. 7 of the Charter,” the decision read.

Sidhu was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2019 after pleading guilty to dangerous driving offences connected with the crash, and faces deportation to India following his sentence.

Mitchell’s decision did not allow the plaintiffs to amend their statement of claim arguments and awarded costs to the defendants.

The full decision can be found here.