It was eight years ago Monday that tragedy struck on a Saskatchewan highway, when a semi blew a stop sign north of Tisdale, plowing into a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos hockey team.
Sixteen people were killed. Another 13 were injured. In the years since, the crash has raised serious questions about road safety and whether enough has changed — many of which still remain.
Scott Thomas has been a leading voice for road safety since losing his son, Evan, in the crash, one he says was entirely preventable.
“The training was bad, the employer was bad and the oversight was bad. And all three of those things led to the tragedy that we went through on April 6,” Thomas said.
There have been efforts to improve safety on Saskatchewan roadways. Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT) was introduced in Saskatchewan a year after the crash, setting a new baseline for new commercial drivers.
SGI says MELT ensures new Class 1 drivers receive adequate, standardized training before taking their road tests to improve road safety.
According to SGI, the MELT program requires drivers to complete 121.5 hours of training to obtain a Class 1 licence. Training includes 47 hours of online or in-person classroom learning, 17.5 hours of in-yard training and 57 hours of training behind the wheel.
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Those requirements were established through consultation with provinces and territories, industry partners, driving instructors and other commercial trucking stakeholders, and are aligned with national standards.
SGI says Saskatchewan’s MELT program exceeds the national minimum standards.
In addition to MELT, SGI says it has strengthened Class 1 road test standards by adding maneuvers to better reflect real‑world trucking requirements.
This includes more complex backing exercises, such as backing to a simulated dock, which are intended to demonstrate a driver’s ability to safely perform tasks they will encounter regularly in commercial operations.
But SGI says it is up to industry players to follow up with specific on the job training.
“Especially specific to each carrier, different load types, different working conditions, things along those lines, provide that additional training,” said Matt Britton, senior director of Driver Development & Vehicle Programs at SGI.
Critics say it doesn’t go far enough, pointing to the recent overpass strikes in the province as evidence that gaps still exist for those who do not follow up with the proper training after completing the MELT program.
“I see stuff like this happening, overpasses being hit, I keep coming back to the same realization that we’re in a worse situation now then we were back then,” said Thomas.
Many companies continue training beyond MELT, but not all do. Thomas thinks it’s time Saskatchewan consider either graduated licensing or a red seal-style program for new commercial truckers.
“Much like carpenters and electricians, they have an expanded scope as they learn,” Thomas said.
The Saskatchewan Trucking Association is intrigued by the idea of graduated licensing, but says responsibility also falls on the companies hiring news drivers. That’s because a Class 1A is all that is required to get behind the wheel.
“So, if I got my Class 1 A today and a week from now, I could be put in a truck and said, ‘Here, take this load to Vancouver and I am probably not ready to do that, so a new driver to the industry,” said Susan Ewert, the organization’s executive director. “So, we need to do a better job of onboarding.”
Ewart thinks such a system could be equipment based.
“And as you progress through your career, maybe you get to haul dangerous goods at some point, or you might be able to be a long combination vehicle driver,” Ewart said.
Since the semi driver, Jaskirat Singh Sidhi, pleaded guilty, there was no trial.
At the time, Thomas says that brought some relief. But he now believes it also meant key questions about the crash were never answered, leading him to consider calling for a coroner’s inquest.
“I just think there’s issues that haven’t been addressed by all three areas, education, employers and oversight, which is the government. They’re all still dropping the ball,” Thomas said.
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